Two Stars of Fate
by Galdr
Summary: After saving her companions from an attack by a mysterious foe in the other world, the Princess of Fate is attacked and seemingly falls to her doom. Meanwhile, a particular Star Child, while remaining behind at home decides to travel to town; suddenly, he hears a ruckus and goes to investigate. What he finds utterly surprises him. (Previously titled "Green") [mostly Genfic]
1. The Princess' Fall

Choose a side.

That's what she was forced to do; choose a side. The side she chose would surely be the side she would fight for. The cause of conquest or the cause of defense? On these plains, she was torn of which one she would choose. There was one family she knew, nearly all her life. The ones that had a hand in raising her to be their princess. Then, there was the family that she rediscovered, one that she had been taken from a long time ago, that had been so relieved to see her well, unharmed, safe and welcomed her back with open arms. The family that her mother had loved and sided with, whom she lost not long ago…

Her two brothers, the older brothers and crown princes from opposing sides, were awaiting her answer, poised to attack each other at any moment. Their hands were firmly upon the hilts of their swords, daring the other to make a move. Looking frantically between the two families she had come to love, even the one she hadn't known for only but a week and half's time, she loved them just as much. In her ragged, exhausted mind, there was no way she could decide. If only… If only there could be no war…

The princess lowered her head, her eyes to the ground, a sacred sword gripped in her hand. In the end, she couldn't decide between them. She loved them both too much. Unbidden tears rolled down her cheeks from her eyes, powerful emotions swirling inside her as her heartbeat escalated in an unsteady rhythm. Intimidated by her older brothers and their stance on this upcoming and inevitable war on the brink of execution, she couldn't face them, with these tears and feelings of betrayal.

When she finally strengthened herself to look up at them, her expression was all they needed to know her decision without her saying. The princes shared their own looks of sorrow at the princess before grim resolution placed them as enemies once more.

They knew their princess was lost to them.

She was now their enemy.

Regardless of that, they would continue the war on the opposing sides, one for conquest and the other for defense. Despite her words against them to stop before the fighting began, the two crown princes and their armies started the fight, engaging one another. The princess knew she would have to make them listen to reason, but she wasn't sure how to go about this. It was all confusing; if they understand her stance on this, then why didn't they stop? The commanding officers from both sides were advancing towards her and towards each other, one a skilled samurai and the other a skilled wyvern rider.

Rushing up to her side was a songstress, whom she had met days prior and felt a connection to, and her most trusted servant, a butler that she had known for many years. With them at her side, she was able to defeat both commanding officers, forcing the two armies to retreat from the battlefield, a once peaceful looking plains. The songstress urged the two to follow her and they did so, knowing both armies were behind them, but not too far—they would surely be in pursuit. Once coming up with a plan to avoid the two clashing forces for some time, the trio went ahead towards their next destination.

It was practically a blur for the princess, heading for a deep, desolate canyon with its unending lightning and thunder storms, blackened skies and unnerving atmosphere. This was the place she had lost one dear friend several days prior to her arrival to the other kingdom. The songstress had carefully stepped over the bridge's roped railing, steadying herself. She made a backwards glance to the other two, the butler and princess, and gave a single nod of approval before she let herself freefall. Startled, the princess hurried over to the side, watching as the songstress was getting further away as she fell.

Turning to her butler, she gave him a firm nod and gave him instructions—just in case something happened. She knew he was only going because she was going and he wanted to follow. With that, she mimicked the songstress and, with a deep breath taken, let herself freefall as well. The experience brought her panic, as she waved her arms wildly as she descended down the canyon at a rapid pace, the rough wind rushing by and into her face and through her locks of hair. Her butler, she could see him from above her, having done the same as she had not a moment too soon. While he seemed to panic as well, he was stoic and focused on their destination below, making sure he wouldn't hit any of the canyon's cliffside walls. Turning back around, she did the same as well.

Eventually, both caught up to the songstress, who turned her head slightly to nod at them silently once more before the entire canyon suddenly became brighter until the light was too bright to handle, forcing them to cover their eyes.

However, that hadn't lasted that long, as the two uncovered their eyes, they were met with a strange scenery; the sky was as blue as they were used to seeing, a light, obviously from the sun, shining down. The land was eroded, but a lot of greenery existed. It was broken off in different ways, and even some parts of the land was _floating_ and others were floating and _flipped_ towards different directions. One of these strange islands had water flowing through them like streams and rivers and those weren't effected by the terrain's current predicament whatsoever. It was as if gravity didn't exist here physically and it was defying all laws of physics itself. Old ruins of what used to be towns or villages could be seen all around, ravaged beyond repair.

It was saddening to see, but this place was mystical, in a strange way. To the princess, it felt oddly familiar, but she wasn't sure where she'd felt it before and dismissed it entirely.

Once they learned the location of this place and the background stories surrounding it, they were forced to engage in a battle with shadowy, invisible enemies that the princess and songstress could sense and see, although slightly. Together, and with another that joined with them, they were able to rout the enemies. But, this victory was short-lived, as a powerful mage and more of the invisible enemies had appeared and forced them to retreat. At the songstress' warning and urging, the quad quickly turned heel and fled, heading for the way back to the lands above.

However… the didn't make it back unscathed. Not all of them…

The mage had ordered one of their underlings to attack the retreating group. Obeying, it readied its bow and arrows, knocking one and firing at them. The princess, being behind them, overheard the sound of the arrow piercing the air and, in a second's time, deduced where it was heading for…

Her butler.

With a cry of his name, she quickly rushed into him, shielding him and taking the arrow for him. She bit back a scream as it punctured into her right shoulder, disarming her from her sword. The others turned, the butler already at his lady's side in a heartbeat, angered, worried and fearful for her safety. Still, the princess wasn't down and urged them to go without her. The butler refused immediately. More arrows were launched in their direction like a turbulent rainstorm, coming quickly. Thinking quickly despite her pain, the princess shoved her sword into her butler's arms as she quickly grabbed a precious, blue stone from around her neck, holding it tight as its energy, her own, responded to her desires. Encased in water, the metamorphosis was complete, and standing in the princess' place was a massive beast of epic proportions, dwarfing the three other humans in size and height. With a roar, the princess-turned-beast used her new body to shield her companions from the rain of arrows.

They hardly did any damage to her new form as her scales were tough to handle them, but she knew she couldn't keep this up. With another urge, this time, coupled with a menacing roar, she bid them to go without her, which she would catch up with them. It was with heavy reluctance, refusals from her butler and after two more storms of arrows and now other weapons like shuriken that she deflected away from them that they finally did turn to escape. When her companions were gone, the princess roared and sent a blast of breath magic towards her assailants. While it didn't seem to do much, it created the much needed diversion, in which she took quickly to retreat herself, down a similar path the others had taken. It had, however, taken out some of the invisible soldiers that were caught up in the blast's wake. Unfortunately, she didn't count on that mage using powerful, unseen magic against her, which crashed right into her frame.

The princess cried out in shock and pain from the magical assault. Even in her new form, which was magically resistant, that hit _hard_ and it forced her back, towards the edge of a cliff. Still, she was on her feet, although a little wobbly, but nonetheless. Glaring down at the mage, who took the image and outline of a woman, the princess snarled as her new opponent drew closer to her. Escaping wouldn't be easy, she noticed. The mage woman raised her hand, a tome in the other, forming a new spell, this time, one that looked like fire. Gearing herself for it, the princess reared her head back, powering another blast from her throat. The mage soon called out her spell, a torrent of flames surrounded the princess. Fearing for her life, the princess fired her breath magic as the mage directed her attack at the same time. In a quick flash, the flames exploded at her all at once. The princess in her transformed state screamed in agony as it engulfed her and sent her spiraling off the nearest cliff, the scaled beast of the young woman falling. The mage had been hit by the blast of the princess' last attack, shrugging off some of the damage. After a moment, she callously and slowly approached the edge, watching as the princess' form shrunk until it disappeared.

Satisfied that the threat her king had informed her about was gone and no longer present, the mage turned heel and left uncaringly. The other three that escaped, however, would have to be found and silenced soon. She would inform her king of the news and prepare for next battle to come.

In a castle in this same world, a voice laughed wickedly to itself, sneering at nothing.

" _The princess of fate… is no more…_ "

* * *

I know I have other stories, I really want to update them, though I have yet to be truly motivated. I do come back and type the next chapters, very slowly. Honestly, I also need to actually get back into writing. It's been two years-ish, barring the RPs I've been involved in. Ugh… need inspiration. :x Maybe doing this side fic will help, hopefully, lol.


	2. Entering the Man in Green

The early morning had arrived in the world of the Mushroom Kingdom. A pleasant breeze wafted around, capturing plentiful of flower petals, fallen leaves off the ground and many pollens. A few creatures soaring in the sky resembling bipedal turtles with wings, sporting outfits in likeness of mailmen, touched down and began delivering mail to each home with a mailbox. After fluttering from home to home in the town, they met up with another and promptly flew off to their next job. Said homely town was due south of a massive structure; their inhabitants awake with the rising sun, ready for another day of work, laughter and fun. However, they weren't the only ones to rise early.

Through a forest, called the Toadwood Forest and along a windy path called Mushroom Way, west of a beautiful, pearly white and pink topped roofs, a massive structure called Peach's Castle in the far distance, there was a rather modest house with a large warp pipe nearby. Two-story with a red roof, a star antenna on it outside, with the house's color choice being a pale-yellow and a chimney that resembled a warp pipe. A purple mailbox was stationed near a tree, right outside, though it was filled with letters. Hanging on a clothesline were clothes; a red shirt, two pairs of white gloves, undergarments, a green shirt and two pairs of blue overalls.

This was the home of the famous Mario Bros., the resident heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom.

The door to the house opened and stepping outside in nothing but pajamas—green and white stripes coupled with a matching sleeping cap and green slippers—was one of these brothers; he stretched his body, yawned and took a few breaths to inhale the crisp, fresh morning air. Still a bit sleepy but alert, he turned to the mailbox positioned to his left, checking the inbox and withdrawing several envelopes. After briefly scanning through them to see the names on each envelope, the brother closed the mailbox and headed for the clothesline to check on the garbs hanging there. Once deeming them dry enough, he carefully took them down, one by one, folded them and returned inside, closing the door behind him.

Remaining quiet, he set the envelopes on the kitchen counter and put the clothes away neatly in the dressers that were on the first floor. Once done, he headed for the kitchenette.

 _Hmm, I wonder what to make for breakfast,_ he thought, washing his hands and looking in the pantry and refrigerator. After scouring the pantry, he spotted pancake mix and suddenly got an idea. _Maybe some light, fluffy crêpes will do the trick! Besides, nothing beats a morning with crêpes! Especially with a nice chocolate spread on top. Yeah, that's what I'll do and before Bro wakes up._ After declaring such a thought, he searched the pantry for another ingredient: flour. He also picked up the milk carton and eggs from the refrigerator and other utensils necessary. Rolling up his sleeves, he got busy.

Within the next half hour, there was a plate full of stacked crêpes, some with mushrooms, which were favorites of his brother's, and others with chocolate spread on them, which were his own favorite. He made two omelets to go along with them, and set the plates out on the kitchenette's small table for two. The sweet aroma filled the house and soon, footsteps were heard as they descended down the stairs.

A yawn came before the telltale sign of someone sniffing the air. While this was an everyday action, such a simple one made the brother smile earnestly.

"Mm, that smells good," a familiar, thick accented voice announced himself, then added heartedly, "Morning Luigi."

The first one looked up and smiled at his brother, who was wearing similar pajamas as he was except they had red stripes instead and he was wearing red slippers to match. "Morning Bro!" Luigi, as he was called, greeted the other, with his similar accent, "Couldn't resist the smell, huh?" He added with a light tease. The one in red laughed jovially at the joke, not upset at it.

"Nope. Not with your amazing cooking! I don't know where I'd be without you and it."

Luigi chuckled though was slightly embarrassed, "Don't praise me too much, Bro. My ego might just soar too high." At that, both of them shared a light laugh. He then gestured for him to take a seat while he poured them their morning coffee. Said brother took his usual seat, waiting for Luigi to come to the table so they could eat together. He grabbed their favorite mugs, one in green and another in red, pouring the coffee and adding the necessary milk and cream to it before arriving to the table. He set the red mug down for his brother and took his seat across from him with his own mug set. The brother in red supped the coffee and was positively alive afterwards.

"Good as usual, Luigi! _Grazie_!"

"You're welcome, Mario! I made us omelets and crêpes, yours have the mushrooms of course. Let's dig in!"

The brothers chimed their grace before doing just that with gusto. Usually, some mornings were spent in companionable silence, the two just peacefully enjoying the other's presence. Other times, it was filled with conversations, normally about their latest adventures or even heartfelt thoughts and concerns that they would solve together. They were exceptionally close towards another, their brotherly love, bond and respect for the other was beyond incomprehensible words. So tightly knit, they have developed a strange ability that allows them to communicate with the other, even at long distances. They could explicitly trust the other and they keep their deepest secrets amidst themselves. They were brothers and then they were friends.

They were the Mario Brothers.

* * *

Later, the one in red, called Mario, had finished taking a shower and got dressed in his normal getup; red shirt, blue overalls, striped socks that he neatly folded and brown work shoes, white gloves and his signature red cap with a red "M" in the front. He made sure his acute mustache was in order and everything he needed was secured in place. After finishing that task, he headed downstairs again and leaved through the envelopes Luigi brought in earlier. Most of it was fanmail, more of it for him and some for Luigi, with two of the rest being bill reminders. He was hoping from the letter from the princess, but it seems today wasn't the day. Still, it wouldn't hurt to go see her, after his chores, of course. Once scanning through the warm written fan letters, the brother in red prepared to leave.

"Hey Weege! I'm heading out for the stores in Toad Town! Do you need anything other than the usual?" He called out. His younger brother poked his head out from the restroom, giving him a head shake and a thumbs up, as he was brushing his teeth. Spotting him and acknowledging that, the red brother gave his own thumbs up. "Okey dokie, then! I'll see ya later!" Both exchanged a wave to another before the oldest brother departed the house, door closing behind him.

As he traversed down the stone and dirt path that led from their house to the Toadwood Forest, he began humming a tune to himself merrily. Once he was finished shopping and taking them home, he'd visit the princess and hope his brother would come along. Maybe they could go out for a game of tennis or golf! With those joyful thoughts in mind, the older brother skipped along through a familiar forest route to hurry himself to Toad Town, the capital city of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Back at their house, Luigi finished cleaning up and dressed as well; he sported practically the same outfit as his brother, except he wore green. Once he pulled his overalls on, he sighed; they were shrinking, as usual, or he was getting taller. The pant legs only went down towards his calves and stopped there, showing off his red and white striped socks. Well, this wasn't anything new anyway. After slipping on his work shoes, gloves and signature hat with an "L" imprinted on the front, he got busy with his own set of chores: cleaning.

The kitchenette was first; dishes washed, counters and tabletop cleaned off with the fresh scent of cleaning detergent, floor swept and mopped and everything placed back to where it should be. The bathroom was sparkling clean next, then the loft room, where their beds were, had been on the list after that. Once made and tidied up, Luigi began to vacuum the rooms. Within two hours, the house was clean and spotless. The green brother finished up by adjusting their photos and albums back into the curio cabinet they had. However, before he put them all back, Luigi examined the few that were in his hands.

Some of these pictures were of different times, such as sporting events that took place, and they participated in. The most recent sporting event they had attended was at the Rio Olympics of the previous year, which was hosted in another world. Other interdimensional characters, who had become friends with, had also been there to compete, too. In the end, each side won some trophies to take back home with them. That wasn't the first time such Olympic Games were hosted; he, his brother and their friends as well as those interdimensional travelers had participated in four other competitions many years prior. He wound up befriending two of them, a purple cat who was also a princess of a future kingdom—who had actually befriended his friend Daisy, a princess herself—and a two-tailed fox in which they both shared some similarities and hobbies, believe it or not.

Luigi smiled fondly at those before putting them back and moving on to his next task. Now that his chores in the house were done for the day, he could do something else. He found what to do next, heading upstairs and rummaging through the small dresser in between the Bros. beds until he found what he was looking for: a thick, red covered book with yellow lining around it with a mushroom on the cover. That's right—this book, the source of their previous adventurous journey around the Mushroom Kingdom, or at least, its eastern side. This book was apparently the host to another world, a world of paper craft, which other versions of themselves and their enemies existed. He and his older brother, Mario, teamed up with said brother's paper counterpart, called Paper Mario, as they worked together to foil the evil plot made by both Bowser and his paper counterpart. At the end of the journey, before the paper counterparts were returned to their world, he had seen a glimpse of his own paper counterpart, who was apparently taking a vacation. When Mario and the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach, had taken to engaging in a conversation with another, Paper Mario had pulled him aside specifically and told him of one of his adventures, one that troubled Paper Mario immensely.

One that he was reminded of when he first saw this world's Luigi, and hoped it would never happen to him. It gave Luigi incentive to be concerned and aware for such a counterpart, a book called the Dark Prognosticus and its opposite, the Light Prognosticus, and the prophecies both ancient texts revealed. The tale itself had shaken him, but Luigi had given Paper Mario his word to be careful and also parted words of encouragement to him. Luigi cherished his Mario—as this was undoubtedly true, then his paper self definitely loved his brother, too. This cheered up Paper Mario and both exchanged a heartfelt handshake before the last of the paper entities returned to their world. Since then, Luigi's kept the book, which he had dubbed as Paper Mario Story, and occasionally held it to recall those times with Paper Mario and their adventure through the Mushroom Kingdom and their own exchanges of story adventures.

Since the adventures of Paper Mario were also detailed in this book, Luigi had decided to recreate those adventures by writing a series based on them and Paper Mario's recollection of it. Without opening Paper Mario Story, of course, as it would likely unleash the paper entities again. Since his counterpart had created a book series featuring himself and his band of friends, based on what Mario's counterpart had mentioned to them, it wouldn't hurt to pursue a hobby. In the end, Luigi wound up publishing two of the five adventures so far. He had to embellish them a little to add more drama and humor, but so far, they have been quite successful as far as sales went. Most of the money earned from them was used for Bros. home.

Placing the book back, Luigi glanced at the clock on their side table drawer and gasped! He stood up and decided to head out himself; it was well past the afternoon! _Maybe I should go visit the princess,_ he thought as he picked up a few items from downstairs and then headed outside the door, locking it after him. _She might be making something today and Bro would definitely go there after his errands._ _Daisy might be there, too!_

Seeing as that was likely, Luigi walked down the path from their house and entered the Toadwood Forest, heading along the same route that Mario had taken previously. Along the way, he spotted a yellow question mark block floating overhead and smiled.

 _I wonder what's in there. I guess Mario didn't see this when he took this path,_ Luigi thought to himself as he prepared to jumped and hit the block with his right fist. As soon as he did, a brown feather with semi-sentient black eyes appeared on top, then slowly descended. _It's a rare Super Leaf! Wow, this might come in handy later!_ The green brother quickly picked it up and stashed it away. Feeling good, Luigi took a miniature detour, traversing through the forest, taking different routes to see what else he could find and keep for handy. The next question mark block contained a mushroom with green spots on a white cap, which held in more restorative powers than a regular mushroom, which had red spots on a white cap; it was capable of waking someone up from a deep unconscious state and restore energy all at the same time. Pretty handy to have, if he could say for himself!

* * *

The next block contained some coins that were commonplace in the Mushroom World. He could use it for some emergencies if necessary later. The man in green hummed a tune happily to himself as he returned to the normal route excitedly.

"Oh boy, this day's turning out good so far. Finally, the universe is on my side. No enemies to fight, no evil plot schemes to foil, and no chores until much later! I think I'm going to enjoy this day for sure! This day couldn't get any better by getting worse, yaa-ho!"

Unfortunately for Luigi, he jinxed himself. Because mere moments after his gleeful exclamation, there was large _crash_ that resounded throughout the entire forest, shaking the foundation and forcing small critters of every kind out of their homes or hiding spots in a frantic rush. The younger Mario brother squeaked in surprise, one for his awful luck and two because such a sound startled him. If it had been just that sound alone, he might have written it off as something like an earthquake or possible aftershock. After all, those do happen every now and then. But when a snarling _roar_ for something _super fierce_ launched right after the booming crash, that totally erased the idea of an earthquake's doing from Luigi's mind immediately.

Slightly petrified in place, his mind began running through a hundred miles a second, wondering what on earth that could have been. The roar cried out again, this time, much longer and louder than the first time, sending chills up his spine. The forest animals weren't doing any better than he, scrambling every which way in fright.

"Oh no, I jinxed it and the universe is after me again…" Luigi murmured and shuddered, his scanning his surroundings. The roar wasn't anything he heard of before, but who knew? It could have been Bowser! Gosh, what if _was_ Bowser and he was coming this way to capture the princess?! Oh, no! He couldn't let that happen—he needed to act. Normally, Luigi would be terrified of trying to challenge the Koopa King head-on like his brother was used to doing, one-on-one, or one-vs-an entire army constricted of his usual baddies. That would be the Luigi of the past; the Luigi of today, while still not as brave as his brother, had more self confidence in himself to take the lead and thwart any evil attempts at the Mushroom Kingdom and harming the citizens and the princess, if he could help it. Especially if this happened to threaten his older twin brother, Mario.

 _If it is Bowser, I need to try and derail him so Bro can be ready,_ Luigi thought to himself, bracing himself for the upcoming battle between himself and an entire battalion of foes. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, he followed the sounds of the roaring, which coupled with sounds of stomps. As he believed to get closer, he couldn't but wonder if it really was Bowser and just some other creature that had been disturbed. Soon, he would come to realize that as a partial truth. The bellowing slowly and surely raged on as Luigi neared and soon as he got closer, he skipped to a halt, mouth hung open in both awe and fear.

The creature he spotted was _huge_. Alright, not as huge as Giant Bowser or when he uses the Mega Mushroom for attacks, but it was certainly large in its own right. This beast, this creature, looked like a cross of a dragonfly and a deer, mostly a deer-like with its body shape. Its entire body was covered in what seemed to be silver plating—scales, perhaps?—with a blue, visor-like plate shielding where its eyes would likely be. Then its antlers, whatever they were called, were actually _moving_ and its mouth opened it fired _blue fire magic_ out in several directions! Its tail, long and thin like a lion's in terms of shape-wise, swished angrily from side to side, its feet, stomping and thrashing the ground in an irritated, angry fashion. Wings outstretched, it tossed its head in every which way, roaring that same sound, and firing off that blue magic when it could. As Luigi stared at the beast, he couldn't help but wonder, _why him._ This thing looked absolutely dangerous and if he could guess right, it looked downright feral! He was certainly having second thoughts about this encounter.

 _M-Maybe if I just back up slowly and turn the other way it won't n-notice me!_ Luigi thought as his face couldn't get any paler at the sight of the monstrosity in front of him. The thing was still raving about madly that he was sure he could make a hasty and silent escape. Just as the green Mario brother was turning tail, he made the rudimentary mistake of not checking his surroundings and headed right into one of the nearby trees—in his haste to get away. The sound of flesh meeting bark, along with Luigi's own cry of shock and pain, would certainly flag attention. He hoped it didn't. Slowly, he turned his head around as much as he could to take a peek in the beast's direction.

It had stopped roaring at nothing.

It had stopped stomping the ground.

It had now _locked onto Luigi as its new target_ though! Oh, no.

Paling further, Luigi scrambled up, backing up into the tree he had ran into, trembling at the sight of the dangerous creature as it seemingly leered at him. Shaking like a leaf, his eyes widened in absolute fear and dread as the creature growled then threw its head back in a war cry, most likely! _I'm so dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm gonna die today!_ Luigi panicked in thought. The beast had charged up more of its blue magic and fired it directly at Luigi's path, the ground ripping up as it sped past, levitating through the air at high speed for the green brother. With a yelp, he used the tree as a footstool, kicking off the bark just in the nick of time and jumping high before flipping forward and landing on his feet. The creature seemed more irritated at his dodging performance and was charging right for him this time, antlers down to impale him. Oh, boy. Luigi sighed and prepared himself for the inevitable fight, getting into his battle stance.

"Mamma mia…"


	3. Dragon Vs Plumber

The deer-monster was charging for him, Luigi waited for its specific tell in order to maneuver and jump over it. It darted right under him in a mad dash, skidding to a halt as it seemingly realized it hadn't hit him. The green brother landed on his feet, waiting for the next attack it would spawn, and it sure didn't disappoint! It roared, rearing its head back and launched more of that blue magic at him! Bracing himself, Luigi whipped out his hammer, waited for a second and then smacked the spherical magic away, right back at the beast. It seemed startled for a second, strangely, but then it dodged out of the way of its reciprocated attack.

Luigi breathed a sigh of relief for himself, but couldn't catch much of a breather, as the beast charged for him once more! He couldn't decipher what exactly it was doing since its antlers weren't lowered to impale him this time but he kept his hammer ready just in case. Of course, that didn't account to the fact when it edged closer to him, it jumped, twisting in midair and slamming its tail at him! Eyes wide, Luigi attempted to bat the offending appendage away from laying the smack down on him, succeeding narrowly. It still grounded him like a ground pound, making his arms shake as he held his defensive position.

 _Mother of Star Sprites, this thing is heavy!_ He cried out in thought, grunting as he used his inner star powers to smack the beast's weight off him, allowing him the opportune moment to get a counterstrike. The thing's weight had nothing on Bowser, but holy moly, it was racking in a close second! Flipping up with one jump, Luigi cannon-balled himself towards the creature, bringing his hammer down with him as he swung hard on its head. The beast bellowed angrily or in pain, probably both he couldn't really tell. It shook its head and retaliated by twisting its body in a mid-jump, its antlers sharp as it struck the green brother.

"Ouch!" Luigi yelped, tumbling down as he held his side where he'd been stricken, landing on his rear in the process. Yikes, that wasn't good! The beast snarled, gearing up to strike again, evidenced by it rearing its right leg back and forth much like a bull would do in a rodeo. Luigi gulped; this wouldn't bode well. It stopped scraping its claw into the ground and made a dash right for the Mario brother! Squeaking in fright, Luigi scrambled back to his feet, stashed his hammer away and prepared for another jump. When the beast charged closer, he bent his knees and launched himself into the air, evading it once more and spiraling back down on its head with a good ole fashioned head stomp.

The creature roared as it recoiled away from underneath him, allowing Luigi to land to his feet, albeit in a stumbling manner. Right, he still needed to heal himself. Thank goodness he stashed some supplies before leaving earlier! While the monster was trying to recover from the head stomp counterattack, he quickly pulled out a mushroom from his inventory and swallowed it whole, feeling the regenerative powers that came with it. Whew, that hit the spot! Good thing too because the beast seemingly got its bearings together, spotted him once more and seemed to be even angrier than before.

 _Just my luck, huh,_ Luigi groaned to himself. The creature reared its head back again and fired another round of the blue magic, this time, it was launched much faster than the last time. Thinking quickly, Luigi dug into his inventory again and procured a Fire Flower, holding it by its stem. With a touch on its oddly shaped petals, the magic power stored within the item surrounded him, changing his green clothes green to white and blue overalls to green, and granting him its powers. It transformed him into Fire Luigi! _You want to use magic, I'll give you some, too!_ He thought, charging a large, green fireball into existence and chunking it at the blue magic the creature used.

Both attacks clashed together, seeming to hiss and steam, like when water is used to put out fire. Now _that_ was interesting! "That magic it's using…must be some kind of water or ice power," he mused to himself. He didn't get to dwell on that thought for too long as he narrowly dodged yet _another_ tail slam by his foe by rolling out of the way. In retaliation, Luigi charged another fireball and threw it at the creature, expecting it to make contact; it _did_ but not in the way he expected to. The fireball actually damaged the beast, marginally from what he could tell since it shook off the damage, but it still connected. Huh, so it wasn't all water or ice magic induced as its apparent magical attack is like… Though, it still seemed to shake off magic power. But, what about a rapid attack…?

 _Let's see how it likes this, then!_ Fire charging into his palms once more, Luigi performed a midair backflip and began rapid firing fireballs into the creature's direction. The beast was hit by a few rounds of the rapid fire but then it curled into itself, using its wings to shield itself from the onslaught. When he landed to his feet, he fired off a massive fireball, hurdling it towards his opponent. He watched as the attack connected and detonated with the creature. Smoke immediately rose from where it was and when it cleared, the beast remained, now upright and ready for another assault. Luigi wasn't surprised, but he hoped it would at least knock it out. Looks like he'd have to try a different approach.

The monster bellowed out a war cry before charging for Luigi again, this time, its antlers heading for him to impale him. Bracing himself, he prepared to jump to dodge and counterattack like before and just when it was right underneath him, he let gravity control his descent. However, instead of his shoes meeting the monster's head, it appeared to have gained wisdom from the last scenario; it halted and then sprang _upwards_ to attack Luigi! Eyes wide, Luigi tried to steer himself from the assault but was far too late and was knocked out of the air with a powerful strike!

With a pained cry, the youngest Mario brother landed on the ground and tumbled. The effects of the attack on him were instant—his clothes returned to normal and the essence of the Fire Flower left him. His fire powers were gone, no thanks to that strong hit. It didn't end there, as the creature charged for him as soon as he landed and flipped forward this time, intending to smack him with its tail slam attack once again! Grimacing, Luigi scrambled to the side as fast as he could; the result of the beast's assault left a large impact on the ground it partially leveled, sending Luigi on an unintended rollercoaster ride through the air due to the aftermath of the attack. He waved his arms frantically to try and slow himself down, his movements mimicking that to someone trying to swim but wound up rolling on the ground without stopping until he smacked into a tree. POW!

Groaning, his body slumped down awkwardly as he was upside down. Ouch, that hurt! His arms felt stiff and his legs felt like jelly. Shaking his head a bit, eyes opened, he saw his opponent storming towards him again, likely this time to try and finish him off! Eyes bugging out and waving his arms frantically again, Luigi panicked. He _had_ to get out of there or he'd be turned into a Luigi-kabob!

"Waaah!" he yelled in fright, quickly righting himself upward to his feet and began dashing up the tree in a right angle and defying gravity—comically. Good thing, too; the beast was inches away from slamming into him with its antlers, likely to pin him to the tree, but thankfully that was averted. With the creature stunned by ramming into the tree, Luigi allowed the usual laws of physics to take its place and, once again retrieving his hammer, spinning like a sideways toy top to slam the mallet head onto the monster's head multiple times, as hard as he could! The aftereffect was painful as the creature roared and tried to throw Luigi off into the air. The younger Mario brother caught his fall by rolling onto the ground.

 _After so many hits to the head, it seems that it's finally taking its toll,_ Luigi thought as he watched the monster stagger away in a dizzy manner, mildly panting from the slight exertion he had to utilize. It was snarling, and twisted about angrily, but it couldn't tell which way was which. It also didn't stay on its feet much longer before it promptly landed with a rough _THUD_ to the ground. After a few seconds of staring at the motionless monster, Luigi blinked. That was it? It was defeated? That quickly? Granted, he was far more conditioned and battle ready, thanks to all those adventures him and his brother Mario went on occasion. He'd give the monster some small credit for winding him out though; his endurance was naturally very high so for it to bring him down to a slight pant after multiple dodging and attacks, it had to be very strong. But, in the end, he was prevalent.

 _Wonder why it attacked me on sight. Then again, most monsters or Bowser's minions would do that…_ he mused to himself, now having the time to do so. Cautiously, he neared the creature, wondering what it was exactly, but still no closer to telling what it could be. It still seemed deer-like with tough scales—probably some species in the Mushroom World that were probably emerging after a long time in hiding or something. Or, maybe a species that had gone extinct? It was hard to tell.

Still pondering the mystery, he nearly missed when the large creature's form began to envelope in a watery effect, bubbles and all! Spooked, Luigi backed away and into a ready battle stance, in case the monster was going to enact some revenge kill plan. Within that essence, he noticed a blue flame sparking in the center of where the creature's heart would likely be, the form of the beast itself shrinking… Why was it shrinking? Watching warily, he gulped as the figure continued to diminish and the blue flame growing bigger and brighter. Finally, after a few seconds, what appeared to be a human-like silhouette was seen through the darkening effects of shadows cast around the creature's frame. Soon, the effects vanished as if wind magic was cast to blow it away, revealing the figure. Heartbeat accelerating, Luigi waited as patiently as he could for whatever to happen next, but when nothing did, he took it upon himself to approach the beast again.

…Except, it was no longer a monster or beast or deer-like entity. In the place of said creature, was a woman! Beaten down, curled up and bruised in the same areas Luigi had stricken the beast from before and then others that he knew he didn't inflict. Despite his wariness, Luigi quickly jumped into action, rushing to the woman's aid as fast as possible. Gently, he pressed two of his fingers to her neck in an attempt to feel for her pulse and was grateful that he could. As he checked her over to make sure that she was still okay, his mind couldn't help but wonder, _Great Star Sprites, was this some kind of curse on her?_

If it was a curse, then who was the culprit that placed it on her? Shaking his head for now, Luigi carefully lifted her up bridal style. She was definitely hurt and needed someplace to lie down and heal properly. Now, the only thing was where _to_? He could go into Toad Town, which was his original destination, or he could backtrack to his and Mario's house and help her that way. After all, he was as much of a licensed doctor as his brother. _Whichever one I head to, I need to get there quick. Her wounds will get worse the longer I stay out here and do nothing,_ he thought. Mentally deciding on his destination, Luigi pulled out the Super Leaf from his inventory while stashing his hammer back and touched the leaf.

In a flash, his outfit was replaced by a yellow, foxlike attire, complete with ears and a tail with a white tip; this another power-up transformation of his called Kitsune Luigi! With a running start, he ascended to the sky, using the tail to keep him afloat. He glanced down at the unconscious woman and frowned, though determined to get her the proper care.

"Don't you worry, miss. You're going to be in good hands!"

* * *

Coolios, thanks for the adds and faves. Hope you like it. And, uh, yeah, it might seem like a weird, bizarre crossover, but it was admittedly in the "cute" category of my mind when imagining it, haha. I've seen weirder, too, and sometimes they work out in the end.


	4. Welcome to Toad Town

Luigi had been sitting in a chair, waiting patiently. In the end, he decided to travel to Toad Town and head for the hospital. Dr. Toadley and his staff would likely be able to fix up the woman's injuries. There was only so much he could do alone and he didn't want to particularly take such cautionary chances. Thankfully there weren't that many people around waiting for their appointments. Ever since the Blorbs incident had been resolved a few years back, there hadn't been too much activity for the hospital, except for the occasional checkups and all. While he was in the waiting room, he slightly and nervously shuffled about. The nurses had made a fuss about his injuries and patched him up; nothing a Super Mushroom and a couple bandages couldn't handle.

 _I hope she's all right,_ he thought, anxiously glancing towards a clock hanging on the wall to his left and back to the doors leading further inside the hospital. He rubbed his clammy hands together, drummed his fingers against his knees and even counted Dreambunnies all in an effort to try and calm himself down. None of these attempts worked, unfortunately. _I still can't fathom how she was cursed in that form, though. It looks like the work of Bowser's right hand henchman, Kamek. No doubt trying to stir up trouble for the Mushroom Kingdom to cause havoc. What would have happened if I hadn't been there to stop her rampage?_

To his own question, Luigi already knew the answer; that woman would have likely rampaged herself towards Toad Town. In her rage, she'd have likely caused a lot of damage, harm unfortunate innocent citizens and much more.

Then again, his Bro was here; Mario had gone ahead hours earlier to run shopping errands. He'd have likely seen the commotion and put a stop to it before it could escalate further. That's just how his Bro was and reacted to issues accordingly: action first, plans later. Speaking of Mario, Luigi thought it best to let his older sibling know he was here in Toad Town. _I don't want him to worry about where I am though. He's probably busy,_ he thought again and finally hammered down his rising anxiety to cool down. No doubt his Bro felt it through their odd connection. Mario likely felt it but didn't react because Luigi already knew his Bro trusted him to handle the situation and cause of said feelings. And if he couldn't, Luigi would alert him.

Reaching forward mentally, Luigi nudged on the telepathic link between him and his older twin and he was responded in kind; he could feel Mario's concerns and worry already, like an overflowing waterfall. That put a smile on the younger twin's face, though he had to reassure Mario he was fine. Sending those feelings towards him, he soon began to feel the rush of concern slowly fade and replaced with echoed assurance. Good, good. Luigi felt his brother's emotional presence slowly diminish, although still open and aware, and that was his cue to leave the connection, too. He waited for a bit though and felt his brother's current emotion; he was obviously happy. Relief was drawn in, likely due to the reassurance of Luigi's safety, but this happiness seemed familiar. The younger brother could easily tell who was the one responsible for such and finally left it alone.

 _He must have visited the princess,_ Luigi chuckled lightly, _With it being such a nice day like this and no Bowser invasion anytime soon, it's a perfect day to hang out. I wonder if Daisy is here, too._ That's right; that was his original reason for leaving the house. Then that fiasco happened and he slightly frowned. He couldn't forget about the woman and the incident that led up to the current predicament. So lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear when he was approached by a medical assistant.

"Mr. Luigi?"

Spooked slightly by the sudden appearance of the medical Toad, Luigi jolted a bit though turned his attention to said assistant, pensive from whatever she wanted to report to him, "Yes?" The Toad slightly ignored his startled moment and continued.

"Sorry about that. I'm here to inform you happily that our newest patient is on the road to recovery," she started, "None of her injuries were severe. Thankfully, we were able to treat her in time. Had they been left untreated, it would have certainly spelled doom!" Luigi visibly relaxed; that was definitely good news! "In fact, the doctor says she'll be ready to go in another hour after another examination, just in case."

"Oh, that's good to hear," he replied.

"Indeed!" the Toad assistant chirped, "We'll call for you again when she's ready to go, Mr. Luigi."

"All right, then. Thank you so much."

"Oh, no problem! It's our duty to help those in need of medical care, no matter who they are!" The Toad gave Luigi a quick nod of farewell before turning on her heel and walking back through the double doors. Luigi watched her go and sighed in relief. This was excellent news! All the anxiety he felt earlier left him, replaced with cheer. Now all he had to do was wait until she was dismissed. Looking out the window, Luigi smiled to himself, noting that the sun hadn't moved much while perched in the sky. The day was still rather young. From what he recalled of her appearance, she seemed rather foreign, possibly from a far off kingdom? Maybe he could get her story while introducing her to Toad Town? That didn't sound like a bad idea, especially towards someone who had been cursed and recovered from its effects.

 _That sounds like a great idea. Perhaps I could get the name of the culprit responsible for her transformation. Then Bro and I could likely do something about it._ Luigi thought, letting said ideas and similar run through his mind. _If not, well, I suppose I'll leave it alone and leave it up to her._

* * *

" _Jakob…! Watch out!_ " She hurried to her trusted vassal's side, shielding him from the brunt of the arrow that had been aimed at him. She groaned in pain as the attack had stricken her down. Her butler whirled around, aghast in fright, anger and worry all at once. He flew to her aid in record time as did the fourth member of their ragtag group, a black armored knight.

" _Milady Corrin!?_ " The butler carefully and quickly caught her before she had fallen to the ground, already readying his healing staff. The songstress with them gasped as she had also turned around, coming to the princess' side, too.

" _Corrin!_ "

But, she couldn't be deterred; more arrows were fired right at them! Struggling to untangle herself from their grasp, she pushed them away, clutching a stone, its power burning in her hand. It shined brightly before magnificent power burst from its oval imprisonment, encapsulating the princess and transforming her into her mighty dragon form. She took the blows of the arrows easily, as her scales were tougher than her armor in her human form. " _Don't… don't worry about me. I, I'm all right!_ " She assured them as she shakily stood up despite her pain, " _Go! Go on ahead! I'll protect you both from this mage!_ " The songstress frowned at the princess' stubbornness.

" _That is not a wise idea. She's too dangerous! We must flee from this place together!_ "

The butler was astonished by his lady's bold, selfless and selfish response. In fact, he could hardly believe it. " _Milady, I… I refuse! What sort of butler am I if I am not at his master's side!? I will fight alongside you!_ " His lady shook her head, adamant on their safety.

" _No! Jakob, you, Azura and Gunter have to run! I have hold off this mage's magic better than the both of you can!_ "

" _Lady Corrin…_ "

" _But…_ " The songstress tried, but she was cut off.

" _Lady Corrin. We will go as you have commanded._ " The knight said, getting both the butler's and songstress' immediate attention. Seeing their disagreeing expressions, the princess insisted further.

" _There's no time for debate! Go! While you have a chance to run! I'll catch up with you three!_ " Her desperation appeared to have affected the songstress for she closed her eyes and sighed. When she reopened them, her expression had shifted to determination.

" _…All right, Corrin. I… I understand. But please… Please promise you will be careful._ "

" _I will._ " She replied earnestly. However, her butler…

" _My lady, my deepest apologies, but I simply cannot accept such an order. I will not accept. I have sworn to protect and serve you, and that is exactly what I will do!_ " He was outright indignant and rightfully so. Still, she couldn't possibly see him hurt either. Normally, she would have fallen into his demands, but this time… This time was different. It was her turn to repay the favor, even if he didn't like it.

" _Jakob, it's going to be okay. I will protect you just as you have protected me. What kind of friend would I be if I have the power to save my friends but I never used it? This is not goodbye, Jakob. I will come for you two when I have this mage's attention and off the two of you. I know I may not be the sharpest tool in the box, and I was naïve for so long and I, I still am in a way, but I've learned so much already. Jacob, please. Let me protect you. If I couldn't stop my brothers from fighting one another on that field, at the very least, let me use my power to help you._ " She stared at the butler for a grave amount of time, the sliver allotted to them as the mage was preparing to advance on them once again. " _Jakob, please! You must understand. This… This is something I desire to do! I will come back, I promise._ "

" _…Lady Corrin…_ " he started, still perplexed, confused and at extreme odds. He knew he had to obey her orders, even if he hated the idea. The servant had to respect their master's wishes unless it denies them their reason to exist. With a conflicted expression, he bitterly continued, " _…I'm not happy with this. I don't like this one bit, Lady Corrin. I, I will await your return. I will come looking for you if you do not hurry within the next few minutes, understood?_ " She could tell he was truthfully worried about her well-being. The mage was coming closer with her assortment of tag-alongs, the princess pushed her sword into her butler's hands.

" _Jakob… Thank you. Now please, go quickly. I'll fend them off for you!_ " The butler, knight, songstress and princess shared one look with one another before the former three departed hurriedly upon the knight's horse, which was able to carry them with ease. The mage had attempted to blast them again, but the princess sidestepped into its path. With a roar, she fought against the mage and her cronies, defeating them with ease. However, the woman herself was very hard to defeat. In fact, she was hardly visible—she looked like she was in a liquefied state, only an outline of what appeared to be purplish energy pulsating around her.

Despite that, the princess was dutiful to her promise to her butler and the songstress; she wasn't going to turn back and escape until the mage was pushed back. Said opponent was equipped with a tome, one the princess couldn't recognize, and before she knew it, a magic blast had stricken her! The dragon-transformed royal grunted in pain, trying her best to shake off the damage dealt. She tried to hit her foe again, barely making any headway of damage before being blasted again, sustained serious damage as she bounced roughly against the ground, dangerously close to the edge of the land.

" _Give up…_ " the mage woman spoke with a nonchalant tone.

" _Never!_ " the princess roared back. " _Not until you're down first!_ " She struggled to stand, her legs weary with pain.

Her opponent seemed to tilt her head before shaking it, " _…How delusional… You will be the first to die. To not heed the warning of the great king… Your destruction is nigh._ " The mage equipped herself with another tome, one whose cover was red but the princess was unsure of this one, too. Before she knew it, her foe cast another spell, summoning a torrent of flames at her! Unable to dodge, the dragon princess screamed as the magic struck her with enough force to send her completely over the ledge. Her draconic roar could be heard even as she descended. One of the odd, floating pieces of the isles had been in her path—her body had rammed into it, shattering most of it with impact alone, unable to halt her progress whatsoever.

She was falling, down, down, down, down… Her cry erupting in her lungs as fire replaced them. The darkening of the abyss was coming for her, taking her form in, swallowing it whole…

* * *

"!"

With a frightened gasp, the dragon princess shot upwards, panting as the dream faded. However, the action was rewarded with a sharp pain in her back and towards her head, almost inciting a blunt-induced headache. She grunted, groaned and flopped backwards on the pillow behind her, rubbing her forehead to ease the pain, but felt bandages.

Wait a second.

A pillow? _Bandages_?

Eyes slightly widening, the princess sat up again, not as fast as before, spotting the raised pillow behind her. Just as she was trying to process this information, something caught her eye and she looked up and was stunned. Wherever she was, the room, had light blue painted walls, a white ceiling, a white floor that seemed to be made from marble, given its strange shine. She was sitting in a raised bed, and there was a large window to her left, with the blind shutters halfway closed, allowing some sunlight inside. There was a tabletop with a small sink and items stacked neatly on top of it, cabinets that were the same color as the walls and paintings of different subjects like an ocean and flowers were hanging on the walls, too. The room smelled different, she wasn't sure what it was.

Heartbeat accelerating, she tried to recall her memories, but couldn't remember something like this. Glancing down, she noticed that she had bandages wrapped around her torso and then remembered the ones wrapped around her head. Had she been injured?

 _Oh… Right, I remember. That invisible mage and her soldiers. They attacked us when we were in that kingdom Va-_

The moment she spoke those two letters, pain started to strike through her body. She emitted a small cry. Some part of her body were enveloped in a purplish energy, similar to that mage woman's, but only small portions of it were bubbling with it. The princess clenched her teeth shut, flopped backwards on the pillow and writhed in anguish, trying to rid of the pain. After a few seconds, it passed, the energy receding and fading away. She panted, trying to catch her breath. What _had_ that been about!?

 _No… Could it be that… Azura was right? Speaking about it brings about a curse to those who speak outside of that land? If so, then I must be careful… Or I could disappear because of it._ Just as she was recovering from that, the door to the room opened, a person she's never seen before hurrying to her side.

"Dear, oh dear! Are you all right?! I heard you yelp!" the strange, polka-dotted top wearing person said, her eyes doing a visual scan of her patient, "Where does it hurt?" Once she finally got her senses together, the princess replied.

"…I'm sorry, nowhere now. I just got up too fast and my head starting hurting. It's okay for now."

The person checked her forehead just in case and after a while, was satisfied with the answer. "Please be careful, we don't want to aggravate your healed wounds so soon. I am glad you are awake, though. Let me take your pressure and temperature to make sure you're still in agreeable shape, okay?"

"Um, all right," the princess agreed, although uncertain of the first term. Pressure? How can one measure pressure? The person had taken something off the wall nearby and began wrapping the black material over her arm. Alarmed, the princess shuffled said arm away, startling the person, who she suspected might be a nurse, given her tone and gentleness. Said royal gave a hard, accusatory look to the aforementioned nurse.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to take your pressure, dear," the nurse replied evenly, not at all offended by her reaction.

"Oh, then what's that?" She pointed to the contraption the nurse held.

"This is a blood pressure monitor. It'll tell me how high or low your pressure is when I wrap this around your arm. Don't be afraid, it's harmless." For a demonstration, the nurse rolled up the sleeve of her available arm and wrapped the black material over it, presenting it for the princess to see it for herself.

Once examining and touching it for herself and deeming it safe, she nodded and relented, "…Oh, okay, I suppose, then. If it's supposed to help." Satisfied, the nurse undid the black wrap material—the princess wasn't sure what it was called, really—and wrapped it around her uninjured arm tightly.

"Now, try to relax," the nurse instructed and the princess did as she was told to the best of her ability. Pressure was building in her arm as the nurse kept squeezing some nozzle thing while watching some kind of watch thing that was also connected to the blood pressure monitor. She eventually stopped, allowing it to deflate as she took some notes of it down on her clipboard that the princess didn't see her with until now. The nurse unwrapped it from her arm, putting it back and retrieving another device the princess was unfamiliar with from her pocket.

"All right, good so far. Now, open your mouth." Seeing her patient's confused look, mostly at the object she held, she decided to explain, "This is a thermometer, it will tell me if you are too hot, too cold or warm based on your body's temperature." Spotting slight recognition in the patient's eyes, she did as instructed, opening her mouth, "Now raise your tongue a little, this might feel cool to the touch as I need to slip this slightly underneath it. Good, good, keep it there for a few seconds." As that was going on, the nurse grabbed a chair, rolled it close—the princess stunned by such a thing but didn't move or jump from that—and took out her clipboard again.

"All right then. When that's done, could I please get your name and some information from you?" When the princess gave her another confused stare, she continued, "We unfortunately couldn't get your name since you were unconscious and the young man that brought you in didn't know, either."

 _Jakob?_ Her mind immediately supplied, hoping beyond hope it was her butler.

* * *

The thermometer beeped and the assistant removed it, frowning when she read the readings on it. Checking the written records from earlier, it was nearly the same when taken then, too. Strange. Maybe her patient was of a different species than the scant few humans that lived here in Toad Town. She clearly seemed human and her biology, at least from the few X-Ray scans they performed earlier to find the cause of the bruises, had informed them of the similar structure. After recording the second temperature on the woman's record, she began her light questionnaire for the necessary information based on what the doctor needed. Nothing too serious or personal of course.

Name? Corrin.

Birthdate? June 25th.

Place of Birth? Kingdom of Hoshido. The nurse mentally raised a brow at that—she's never heard of such a place, but perhaps there was more to the Mushroom World than she knew. After all, she was a Toad Town resident through and through. She hadn't even known about that place called Pi'illo Isle until the Mario Brothers and the Princess had went there on vacation a couple summers ago!

Current age? Eighteen.

Once that was taken care of, the medical assistant thanked her and stood up from her chair. "All right then, Miss Corrin, before you had awakened, the doctor had cleared you and was ready to discharge you from the hospital, as you were showing such rapid recovery from the administered treatments for your wounds." Corrin blinked, seeming unsure of the news.

"Are… Are you certain? I mean, I do feel fine aside the minor throb, but…"

"Yes. Dr. Toadley expected as much. That you might experience lingering pain. Being hammered and stomped on by the Mario Bros. is a sure, fine way to experience that!"

Corrin didn't seem to understand what she meant, but she wouldn't have much time to explain. "Anyway, here are your change of clothes. Your old ones were barely salvageable; we had to pry them off with some excessive force in order to treat your wounds. I deeply apologize for that." The medical assistant purposed the woman with a package of a new set of clothing. "The hospital provides for patients that don't have anything once their old clothes are torn for the sake of hurried treatment."

Corrin politely took the package and unwrapped it; the clothes weren't so strange, but definitely something she hadn't experienced before.

"I'll let you get dressed. When you're done, just knock on the door and I'll be back to lead you to the waiting room. The young man who brought you in is waiting patiently for you." With that, the assistant left out of the room, closing the door behind her. Now alone, Corrin examined the articles of clothing. She found a pair of smallclothes, to which she was grateful for. The next was a basic, short-sleeved shirt that commoners normally wore. Now, she wasn't above wearing such clothing, though the style and design of it was what captured her attention.

There was some depiction of a star on the shirt, with the star having two sets of eyes on it. Weird. The next were…pants? The shoes provided looked like some kind of sandals, though she wasn't sure. _I should have asked her how to put those on,_ the princess lamented to herself, staring at the shoes. She hadn't needed them, now that she thought about it. Going barefoot was extremely fun, and it bugged the heck out of her family and retainers in the Northern Fortress—

Thinking about them reminded her of what she left behind and the possibility of Jakob being out there, waiting for her. As fast as she possibly could, and many failed attempts later, Corrin dressed in the new clothes, replacing her hospital gown. As instructed, she rapped on the door and the nice nurse lady appeared as she said, leading her out of the room and through the hospital halls. _If Jakob's here, then maybe Azura and Gunter are too. Maybe they came back for me, found some place to get me help and rushed me here,_ she began thinking, _I know Jakob's a talented healer but he would have sought help if it was truly serious and beyond his level._ She smiled as she imagined her butler scrambling around in a mad panic to get help for her. She truly appreciated him and his dedication and wouldn't trade the world for another like him. How she truly missed him and her family…

They may not be her family by blood, but the Nohrian Royals were close to her. And while she didn't get much time to spend with them, the Hoshidan Royals were family, too. If only they had listened to her…

"Here we are, the waiting room!" the nurse's perky voice cut through her thoughts, tearing her attention away from them and back to the real world. Corrin took a look around and was thoroughly astonished by what she saw. There were so many chairs, all dark blue in color, a few people that look similar to her nurse sitting down in them. There was one that was a brown creature with huge teeth sticking out of its mouth. It had no arms that she could see, and yet, it appeared to be _reading a book_! Another one near it looked like some odd turtle…with shoes on! But it had a nose shaped like a bird's beak and it was wearing a hat! What sort of craziness was this?!

Desperately hoping she'd see those familiar faces she knew, Corrin tried to find her butler, her knight or the blue-haired songstress, but she didn't see them. They hadn't left her, had they? No, they wouldn't just up and leave like that. Gunter would have abhorred against such a thing, Azura seemed too nice to do that and Jakob, gods bless him, would have had a heart attack if anyone attempted to pull him away from her as she was recovering. Concerned, she decided to ask the nurse.

"Um, excuse me? I don't seem to see my friends anywhere. One should be dressed as a butler, another wearing black armor and a woman about my age with long, blue hair?"

The nurse gave her a confused look before shaking her head, "I'm sorry, Miss Corrin. The staff hasn't seen anyone like that, not even after you were checked in earlier. The only one who brought you in was him." She pointed to a man dressed in green—a cap and shirt matching, with blue overalls and brown shoes—who seemed to be waiting for something. Or some _one_.

"Mr. Luigi!" the nurse called out, prompting the man in green to look up. When their eyes met, both had nearly the same reaction. However, the man seemed to recover faster. He stood up from his chair and approached them. She knew she recognized him from somewhere and her mind clicked it for her.

 _Wait… I remember him! From that weird forest place… I can't recall all of it though, I don't know why but I just do. Everything's so hazy._

"Mr. Luigi, as I said before, she's been discharged from the hospital today. If anything happens that aggravates her wounds, please come back immediately. Dr. Toadley has recommended that she takes it easy for the rest of the day and tomorrow."

"Okay then," the man, apparently named Luigi, replied. Corrin noted that his voice was quiet soft, "I'll look after her."

"Great! Well then, you two take care!"

"Thank you."

The medical assistant headed back into the main part of the hospital, both Corrin and Luigi watching her go before they locked gazes again. The latter was the first to speak up, "You look a bit startled there," he started, chuckling a little nervously, "Um, would you like to go?" That seemed pretty lame, but it was all he got. Far too stunned to comment, Corrin simply nodded. Being the gentleman that he was, Luigi held out his hand for her to take and she took it out of courtesy—she was feeling a little lightheaded and she didn't want to walk off balance. Not until she felt she was ready.

"…Thank you, um, Sir Luigi, for your help."

"It's not a problem, miss. Oh, um, and please, just 'Luigi' is fine. The 'sir' title makes me feel…uh, too proper, I suppose…"

"All right then, Luigi. My name is Corrin. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise, Miss Corrin."

She couldn't help but chuckle at that. Such irony. "You don't need to address me with a prefix either. 'Corrin' is fine." Luigi blushed a bit in embarrassment but nodded.

They exited the hospital together, right into the blinding sunlight. When her vision cleared up, Corrin got the shock to her life. This place, wherever it was, was blooming with life and people. There were kids running around, people being busy with chores and stores, others greeting one another in friendly manners, and the _houses_! She's never seen anything like it! Was this some kind of different culture? A different place of Ternaia*?! The very thought had replaced her concern for her friends to the back burner for a long moment, later they would come back to the forefront of her mind, but now...

Spotting her obvious reaction, Luigi got the feeling she was experiencing culture shock and prepared for it. A light grin played upon his face as he swept his unoccupied arm out in an introductory sweep.

"Welcome to Toad Town, Corrin."

* * *

[*]Shirohva is basically the sorry excuse of a continent name I made up for Fateslandia. It combines Ho **shi** do, N **ohr** and **Va** lla. Lel (/originality). If I find another one that's better, I'll replace it and all.

Thanks for the faves, follows and reviews. :) You're too kind.

[*]Edit 7/21/2017: Where I had "Shirohva" has been edited to the nicer sounding "Ternaia" instead. Combines the words _ternary_ , which means "consisting of or involving three" and _Gaia_ , the name of the goddess of earth in Greek mythology. The name itself is supposed to be "three earths." Supposedly pronounced as "tur-nye-uh" lel. /fail Anyway, hopefully this is better sounding.


	5. Let's Go Sightseeing

_"Welcome to Toad Town, Corrin."_

Sir Luigi's words to her had baffled her and the sight before her had taken her breath away. The sun was bright, high in the sky, presenting a beautiful canvas above as usual with the clouds around it. There were those strange looking, small people around literally _everywhere_ like the nurse that had tended to her. She didn't want to sound rude or anything, but she had no idea whatsoever of what they could be. Having had a good, long look at the few passersby, they didn't appear to have any noses or ears! Not only that, but more of those turtle looking creatures were around, too, though they weren't as plentiful as the strange hat-topped folks or these colorful creatures that had something of a saddle on their backs and were also wearing shoes, too. At this point, it was safe to say _everything_ was colorful!

The tops of the houses were similar in appearance to the people with the hats on their heads, except they were inverted. These buildings seemed stacked everywhere and the town itself stretched onward, both east and west. The pathways were white in color, seemingly made of some kind of stone, but they were pristine and in good condition. Her eyes drunk in everything that she could see by sweeping her gaze around, amazed.

Luigi silently watched her reaction. Definitely a culture shock experience; he and his brother had similar when they first traveled to the Beanbean Kingdom, which was many miles to the west of the Mushroom Kingdom a few years back, on one of their many adventures. He waited for her to come to and for her surprise to wear off; he was not disappointed.

"Toad…Town?" she repeated with uncertainty.

"Yes," he confirmed for her, "Toad Town is the capital city of the Mushroom Kingdom. It rests just south of the royal castle." He noticed her expression shift to one of interest, likely at the mention of said castle.

"There's a castle here? So close by?"

"Mm-hm. The ruler is a benevolent princess who treats her subjects well."

Hearing that, Corrin's surprise melted away, replaced with a smile. It was good to hear there were good rulers who were kind to their people. Her own mother was one, and she hoped this princess of this kingdom was as just as Sir Luigi made her out to be. Hopefully she'd get a chance to meet her. But before that, now that her shock wore off, there was something else she had to attend to: her friends. That nurse said she hadn't seen them, but perhaps her savior had. Speaking of him, she noticed that he was facing her, looking expectantly at her.

"Would you like a tour of town, Miss Corrin? Oops, I mean, Corrin?"

She blinked, taken slightly off guard by that. The princess chuckled a little and nodded. "That would be generous of you, Sir—erm, I mean, Luigi. I don't really know my way around and it would certainly help." Taking a look at him, she could tell he appeared relieved at her answer.

"All right, then," he said with a light chuckle of his own. He began leading the way, their hands still intertwined. Corrin let him, as she wasn't sure of being on her own feet now. Luigi was careful as he started walking towards the left path, minding his steps, "We'll have to get used to each other's names without unnecessary titles, it seems."

"Apparently so."

Luigi gave her a smile and faced forward, his eyes traveling to each building and home. The tour of the town lasted for a good two hours; he led her to each place in town, from the various shops to the larger tower of a store called the "mall". He even explained the different species in town that they came across: the creatures with the saddles she saw before were dinosaurs called Yoshi; the turtle ones were called Koopa; and the ones with the spotted hats were called, confusingly, Toads. Luigi had no idea how to respond to Corrin questions of why they were called that when they looked _nothing_ like amphibians to her. It was simply the way of life around her, something she'd have to get used to.

Luigi's personal tour had taken them to another place in the town, separated a good ways away though; they went by some of the racetracks nearby, which were occupied by racers in their go-karts. The enormous castle loomed in distance, slated with white and pink topped roofs. Needless to say, that the karts themselves had _definitely_ surprised Corrin the most.

"What in the gods' names are those!?" She had shouted, baffled and dare she admit it, frightened of them. What was that roar? And how was that thing moving on its own?! Having expected this somewhat, Luigi had been glad to provide the answer.

"Those are called go-karts," he had started to explain. She gave him a confused look as he continued, "They're powered by motor engines…" When he had seen that her expression hadn't shifted in the slightest, Luigi had sighed and knew he'd have to explain _those_ in further detail, right down to the nitty-gritty stuff. Just explaining what a motor engine was and the "why's" and "how's" behind the invention had taken more than thirty minutes. But it had seemed to work; his bountiful patience was a godsend, since he wasn't upset at her rampant questions afterwards. After that explanation, he had to explain to her what a _go-kart_ was, what the acceleration speeds—fifty, a hundred, a hundred and fifty and then the deadly fast two hundred—of cubic centimeters were, and in relation to all of that, what other vehicles were.

Yes, it was thanks to his miraculous amount of patience that allowed him to trudge through those hefty details without any frustration whatsoever. Corrin's confusion sure proved to him that wherever she was from didn't have such advanced technology. It appeared to have taken her a while to register the terms, as he had to dummy them down in order to explain in detail as much as possible. In any case, for a foreigner, she was adapting pretty well so far.

"So… These go-karts are much faster than horses and carriages… And these other…things called cars are just like them."

"Yeah. Well, don't get them mixed up. A car will go faster than a go-kart unless the go-kart is tailored to driving faster than the occasional car… Which, uh, _usually_ happens in the more competitive races around here."

Corrin watched as more racers were lining up on the track, called the Royal Raceway. There were only six racers: two Yoshi, one yellow and one red, two Toads, one having blue spots and jacket and the other with green spots and a green jacket. The fifth one was a green shelled Koopa and the last racer was another dinosaur that looked similar to Yoshi but had a huge bow on top of its head. A Koopa-like creature riding on a cloud with a fishing pole was seen descending down with a stoplight device hanging on the hook, the lights flashed from red, red, to green on the bottom one, signaling the racers to go! And off they sped away in their go-karts, zooming around fast! The roars of their engines still shocked her, but the way the crowd on the bleachers nearby were hollering and shouting in cheer, it was supposedly a good thing happening. According to Luigi, these racers' karts were set for 100cc, so it was the median average speed. Thankfully, it wasn't some kind of torturing method, even if everything else looked completely bizarre to her.

"It… It kind of looks like fun," she admitted. The racers zoomed past them, creating a whiplash of powered wind that blew by them. Luigi held onto his cap as Corrin's hair whipped by. It was a good thing they were behind a white fence and the racetrack itself was far off, separated by a large, lawn of grass. While it looked frightening, it did look quite fun to try. "Looks dangerous, but fun," she added.

"Yeah," Luigi said with a nervous chuckle as he recalled the most _recent_ Go-Kart Tournament which made him particularly famous. "It's all fun and games until you get blasted though."

"Blasted?"

"Uh-huh."

Now she was confused. If this was supposed to be for fun, a form of entertainment, then why would anyone get hurt during it? Sure, they were going way too fast while driving those vehicles, but the racers themselves seemed completely able to handle them and steering them. What was Luigi talking about?

"Get blasted…by what?"

Luigi rubbed the back of his head and then pointed towards the race, saying, "By an assortment of items. You'll see soon enough." Blinking, Corrin looked back at the racetrack and the racers, wondering what on earth he meant. It didn't take long for her to see it happen, and when she did, _oh boy_.

The yellow Yoshi was turning a corner, having glided down when all of a sudden, the Koopa had procured a shell very similar to its own and launched it at the Yoshi! Soon as the Yoshi landed, it was hit by the shell, forcing its kart to spin out as the Koopa bypassed, taking its place. The Yoshi got control of its kart and began to race after the Koopa, a coin in its hand, which changed into a different item: a banana peel! The dinosaur launched the banana peel with its arm. It sailed through the air, landing on the racetrack. Another racer, the blue Toad, had saw it and drove around it, but the Koopa behind it didn't; it ran over the banana peel and lost control of its kart, right into the lake nearby! The Koopa-like creature on the cloud had hurried to fish out the racer and its kart while the yellow Yoshi zoomed by, evidently pleased by its revenge.

Corrin's eyes widened at such display. It was vicious, devious, dangerous, clever, and it simply didn't make sense to her. Why would they do that to one another? Sensing her curiosity and confusion, Luigi cleared his throat to grab her attention.

"That's what I mean," he began, "The races here are fun, but you do get hit by another racer's item if they happen to have it. It's one of the rules to help spice up the competition."

The princess frowned, now concerned. "That sounds awful. It's really dangerous, isn't it? Someone could die!"

Luigi eyed her then shook his head. "No one has ever died and it's quite impossible to, given the nature of these races," he began to pacify her and rout her confusion, "these tracks are rather radical, but the racers and their karts are imbued with a special power called Star Power that protects them from severe damage. It helps build specific immunities to such attacks that it minimizes the power behind them. So, yes, we get hurt, but it's like getting spooked than actually hurting physically." Luigi paused and continued, "It's like that for every sport event we have here in the Mushroom Kingdom, too."

To Corrin, that still didn't make any sense. But, she couldn't ignore that it was possibly how their culture was here. It wouldn't be right to doubt such things and claim them as barbaric—her own kingdom was similar, what with bandits running rampant and the war on the horizon…

Wait a minute.

Eyes wide and memory jolting back to her, Corrin nearly face-palmed. She had almost forgotten!

"Corrin? Is there something the matter?" Luigi asked, seeing her expression shift, concerned for her well-being. It couldn't be another headache, could it? Maybe all that information was giving her one. Did she need to sit down?

Steeling herself, she turned to Luigi, worry evident on her face. "Luigi, I just remembered something very important. When you found me, did you, by chance, see three others nearby? Two males and a woman about my age?" When he looked confused, she pressed on to describe them in as much detail as she could remember.

He gave it a minor thought before shaking his head, "No. I didn't see anyone else around, none that matched those descriptions either. It was just you, Corrin." _In that awful form, too,_ he added the last part himself.

His answer sent another round of shock to her. So, he didn't see them, either. So, was she really lost? Had they left her behind? No, no, she said she would catch up with them. But, how? How could she when she didn't know where she was? Speaking of that…

"I see…" she said with a downcast look and forlorn tone, but wouldn't give up yet, "I meant to ask of you when you mentioned it before. This Mushroom Kingdom, where is it on the map? Like, where is it located?" To Luigi's perplexed expression once again, she continued, "I mean, on the continent, Ternaia. I've never heard of it and this was my first time. Is it north of the kingdoms of Hoshido and Nohr? Is it across the sea?" Her other questions were concerned about a certain, other hidden kingdom that she wouldn't dare speak about just in case. She had considered that this kingdom was apart of the hidden one, but then concluded it wouldn't be the case. If this place was indeed in the same realm as the hidden kingdom, then the curse wouldn't have evoked itself earlier. That meant, she was somehow _outside_ of that realm.

Luigi was momentarily confused by the mentioning of these names but then realized that Corrin was a foreigner and she didn't quite know where she was. _That's right, perhaps those places are locations of her homeland. I best correct her so she won't get confused further._ Luigi decided to educate her lightly, leading them away from the racetrack and back into the town proper. It was better to show her than to lecture.

"The Mushroom Kingdom is one of the three kingdoms on the continent called Mushroomland. It does have a few neighboring kingdoms, but those you spoke of, well…" He paused a bit, "I've never heard of them before except now." Flabbergasted again, Corrin stared at him in surprise as he continued to lead them through the town again, bypassing many shops and heading for one that had a sizeable, green roof and single door leading on the inside. This didn't make sense. Mushroomland? Was it possible that it was much further than she originally thought? Had she been swept away from her homeland? She remembered falling off the ledge when facing that mage woman.

When she, Azura and Jakob fell off the Bottomless Canyon's ledge, they wound up in that hidden kingdom, Valla. Azura insisted they return back when that mage woman showed up and ambushed them. She had briefly seen her, Jakob and Gunter head for the nearest ledge and make the jump, guided by Azura…

Wait.

Maybe that was it!

Azura guided them the first time. It was because she knew of the land and had been there many times before. Since Azura was going to guide them back, it made sense that Corrin would be lost. She didn't have Azura helping her. Maybe, when she fell off, she was potentially transported to somewhere else other than back to the Bottomless Canyon or anywhere on Ternaia. Was that perhaps why she was here, in this other land? Could it be entirely separated from the rest of the world? It was the only conclusion she could come up with as much of a stretch as it was. If that was true, then it was only a matter of figuring out how to get back. She had to stop the war between Nohr and Hoshido. She had to somehow! The lives of so many people and her siblings were at stake. She could only hope they stay alive long enough for her to reach them.

 _Elise, Leo, Camilla, Xander… Sakura, Takumi, Hinoka, Ryoma… my family, my friends, please, be alive and well. I will find a way back to you all, safe and sound, with the answer to stopping the war._

So enraptured with her thoughts, Corrin didn't realize that Luigi led them into another shop and had made tea for the both of them, setting the cups on a table in front of her. The sound of the cup meeting the table alerted her and she snapped back to reality. She eyed her surroundings, taking notice of a counter behind them, with various boxes seemingly made of steel sitting behind them, some other kind of machine and other utensils. There was a sign she couldn't really read, given the linguistics here were vastly different than the ones she's used to seeing. Considering that Luigi seemed comfortable here, she deduced it was someplace he knew well. Speaking of Luigi, he smiled and nodded to her once their eyes met.

"Welcome back to the waking world," he said with a chuckle. "You really seemed deep in thought there." She couldn't help the embarrassed blush crossing her face at his statement. He gestured the teacup and she took it gingerly, blowing it and taking a sip.

"Yeah, I was. I was thinking about my family and friends that I left behind. They're probably worried about me. I'm really worried about them." Luigi also took a sip of his tea and hummed to himself.

"I understand," and he truly did, "It's not good to be separated from them. Are they the ones you told me about earlier?" To her confirmed nod, he went on, "I'm sure they wouldn't leave you on purpose, Corrin. They sounded like really good people. Maybe they're looking for you right now and don't know where to go."

The princess fiddled with her teacup a little, hanging her head slightly, "I, I can only hope so." Watching her look so sad made him feel terrible. Here she was, a foreigner in a strange land with no one she knows, likely frightened and alone. Sure, he had helped her and everything, but nothing could compare to the feeling of familiarity. Luigi felt quite hopeless when he couldn't sense his Bro around or was all alone with no one he knew. One such incident was when he "won" his mansion and had to save his big Bro from the nefarious majesty of the Boos, King Boo himself. _Twice_. Oh boy, that wasn't any fun, but he did it because he wanted to and _had_ to. His brother was the other half of him. If the situation had been different and their roles reversed, Mario would have jumped at the chance to rescue him, zero questions asked.

Corrin's friends were likely her rock solid pillars to hold onto and without them, she was slipping away into despair. Luigi frowned as he watched her. She was awfully sad and her predicament was sure a strange one. He tightened one of his fists; he couldn't sit here and do nothing! He had to do something to help her, even if it was minimal. Thinking quickly, he asked himself, what would Mario do? The answer came to him almost immediately, as if his brother had heard his thoughts and provided him with an instant solution.

"Corrin, I have an idea." When she glanced up to meet his eyes, Luigi set his cup down, facing her with determination, "I'll help you find your friends!"

The princess blinked, slightly startled by his proclamation. "You…will?" She didn't stutter, but she hesitated. It wasn't that she doubted his abilities, she was rather uncertain. Luigi recognized that and pressed forward.

"Yes. I can't stand here and do nothing while you are in dire need. We'll search for your friends together and find a way for you to get back home. I'm sure there's a way and we'll find it together."

She couldn't believe it. This man, the one who had helped her earlier without much thought put into it, who was nice enough to stay behind and wait for her to recover from her injuries and guide her around today, was offering to continue helping. A complete stranger, someone he didn't even have to help in the first place. She didn't want to burden him any more than she likely already has by now.

"I don't want to trouble you any further, Luigi," Corrin started, "I mean, I'm grateful you want to help and I'm truly thankful for your assistance so far. Without you, I probably wouldn't have made it here. I just think… I think this is something I should do alone. I don't want to burden you anymore." She bashfully tapped the side of her cup in her hands, staring into the tea as if it would bestow her some kind of gift. She was also met with silence and it was her reflexes as a swordswoman that disallowed her from jolting in her spot when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She angled her head upwards to the source, knowing it was only him.

"You're no burden to me, Corrin," Luigi said, giving her a reassuring smile and tap to her shoulder, "I, I want to help you out. I mean, it's terrible that you're alone. And, it's the right thing to do to help others. That's what I'm going to do."

"But, I'm a stranger. Are you sure you can put your trust in me like this?"

"Yeah," His answer was spoken with finality, "I can tell you trust me well enough by now and I extend the same courtesy to you." Her expression shifted again, lightening up. He was telling the truth; she had already leaned on trusting Luigi. A fault of hers that she trusts too much and too easily, but it was just in her nature to. Maybe it was just some part of her naivety that took control in that department, but if she didn't learn to trust people, then she'd be a bitter person with no friends. How awful that would be to live a friendless life!

"You're right. I've already trusted you as it is… I just, I'm worried. Some people can take advantage of another's kindness…" A faint memory flashed to the man named Hans before he had taken out her retainer, Gunter, at the Bottomless Canyon. "This might sound silly, but I wanted to be sure that you weren't, well…"

"I think I understand. It's okay to be cautious. Better to be wary first then to jump the gun and head for potential disaster," Luigi said as he set his cup down, "Well, now that we're partners in this, I think we should first find some clues." Corrin took another sip of her tea before setting it on the table, too.

"Clues?"

The younger Mario brother nodded. "Yes. If we can find any kind of clue of where the last place you had seen your friends, it could give us some tips as to where they've gone off and we could get a lead to where they may be headed."

"Oh. That's it?" She wondered, "That's relatively easy. I last saw them in—" Corrin paused there, halting right on the spot. She almost spoke of the hidden kingdom, Valla, right in front of Luigi. Just the mere mentioning of it would evoke the curse, she knew it. Just like earlier in the clinic place. With Luigi staring at her curiously, hoping she would continue, she scrambled to reach another way of phrasing it, "—I mean, I last saw them heading for the kingdom of Hoshido, in my homeland. We were on the way to stop a war effort from breaking out between Nohr and Hoshido."

A war? He wouldn't have guessed that she was mixed up between warring nations. The Mushroom Kingdom and those of the Darklands ruled by the kingdom's nemesis, one he and his brother are far too familiar with, were often in skirmishes and battles themselves. There was also that Shroob invasion, too; that in of itself was a war. Between the Mario Brothers of the past and present, or rather of the future. Oh boy, time travel was a tricky subject indeed. Still, a war happening…

"I see. Now I see why you're anxious to get back home. I'll do everything in my power to help as fast as possible so you can reunite with your friends and find a way to stop that war."

"Yeah. It's very important that I do. I don't want to lose any of my family members… I've already lost my mother and father." If she lost any of her siblings, blood related or not, she would be devastated.

"I understand, Corrin." He honestly did. His and Mario's parents had passed away when they were entering their early, young adult ages and had to start a business in order to sustain themselves. All the brothers had were each other. The princess gave Luigi a faint smile before it transformed into one of determination. Before either of them could get another word in, however, one of the Toad people ran inside in a quick hurry, short of breath as he panted heavily. Spotting the Toad, Luigi was on high alert, arms at his side as he approached the exhausted Toad.

"There you are Luigi, I found you!" the Toad exclaimed when he regained his breath, "I'm only a messenger Toad. Her Highness and Mario have requested your presence at the castle as soon as possible!"

"What's happened?" Luigi asked worriedly.

"I wasn't told, they only requested of me to locate you and tell you to come with. I think it's updated news from the border patrol, though!"

Frowning, Luigi reached for his mental link with his oldest twin and instantly found the connection. Mario's feelings reached him quickly, it was both urgent and concerned; it was something he usually associated with the enemy. The youngest twin reached through and pushed his own feelings of worry towards his brother who responded in kind. Understanding, Luigi straightened up.

"It has Bro worried definitely."

"Yeah. The princess and Toadsworth are also concerned about it," the Toad replied, finally regaining his breath, "I'll let them know you're on the way!"

"Thank you."

The castle's messenger saluted him and quickly bounded away, rushing out the door and hurrying for the castle grounds again. Corrin, however, was moderately confused. She understood a castle summons though, considering she is a princess and she's sent something of that nature before in the Northern Fortress to her retainers and other servants that lived there, too. But what was so urgent that had Luigi shift gears like so?

Luigi turned to Corrin and frowned. "I've been called to the castle. Normally, something this serious means that our enemies are likely on the horizon for yet another battle, but we can't be too sure," he began. She nodded in understanding and he went on, "I've already said I'd take responsibility over you today but I understand if going to the castle may seem intimidating. Would you like to come, Corrin?"

Her answer was easy to tell as she straightened herself. "I would like to. This sounds incredibly serious. Maybe there's something I can do to help you out in the meantime while we figure out the rest."

The green brother nodded. "That sounds ideal. Okay, but try not to overdo it. I don't want to have to take you back to the hospital."

"I won't, thank you," she assured him with a light smile. The two departed from the shop—Luigi reading her the sign that says, "Mario Bros. Plumbing Service" and offering a mild, less personal story to that—and headed for the castle. Luigi was leading the way with Corrin not too far behind him. She still felt a tad dizzy, but it was coming along much easier that she didn't need Luigi's assistance. They traveled along the eastern path that crossed through Toad Town's proper, bypassing the hospital and mall and a large warp pipe that led to the underground of Toad Town. There was a massive stairway, slanted at an obtuse angle heading upwards, towards the massive castle they saw previously at the Royal Raceway.

Corrin marveled at the castle, comparing it to Castle Krakenburg and Shirasagi. However, the latter was much larger than this castle and Castle Shirasagi was taller. This one seemed quite modest in terms of height and width. Still, it was pretty impressive! There were Toad guards in front of the castle's gates that, after identifying themselves—thanks to Luigi's acquaintance with the kingdom's princess—were allowed inside. Pushing the doors open, Luigi and Corrin entered, greeted by the sight of more Toad guards, who were waiting for them.

"Master Luigi!" a young Toad guard chirped upon spotting him, "Toadsworth, the princess and Master Mario are in the throne room waiting for you!" Luigi thanked him and led the way again, with Corrin thinking that Luigi was in good terms with the monarchy here. She also wondered who this Mario character was; Luigi hadn't really told her except that he was a very good person and a role model. She followed along, not wanting to get lost; this place seemed as much of a maze as Castle Krakenburg, though. After going through several halls with gorgeous designs and details as well as red carpet, they found themselves in front of two, solid, golden doors with more guards posted at each end. Luigi took it upon himself to open them with gusto. At the end of the magnificent hall and open space, decorated and detailed for those of high nobility—glass windows, large pillars and articulate architecture befitting a noble castle—there were three seats atop a mild, carpeted staircase. Two were empty and one sitting at the last one was a young woman with blond hair, wearing an elegant pink dress and a crown atop her head. There was an air of regality and nobility about her, Corrin easily recognized her as the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, as Luigi told her about. She also felt very peaceful and calm, something that she related to with her dear, late mother.

Beside her was another Toad, although he seemed much older. He had a white beard, wore a brown hat with darker brown spots on top and had a walking cane to help himself balance.

The third person beside the princess, however, Corrin's eyes couldn't believe what she was seeing. The man was short, wearing practically the same kind of clothing as Luigi, except his shirt and cap were red. His mustache was a bit bushier than Luigi's but everything else about the two were identically the same. It was nearly frightening! She had to do a double-take betwixt the two, hoping she hadn't seen doubles. Her two maid servants, Flora and Felicia, were twin sisters and though they looked identical, they could be identified easily with the color of their hair. These two, though, she could easily tell who was who based upon their height. But, if she had just seen only pictures of the two without actually meeting them, Corrin was certain she wouldn't know who was who.

"…Luigi, that man looks exactly like you," Corrin whispered. The plumber chuckled and beckoned her to come with.

"I know," he said, smiling as he and the other like him exchanged visual glances with another. He continued on proudly as she followed after him, curious, "That's my other half. Someone I look up to as my role model. He's my twin, my awesome, big Bro Mario."

* * *

Just a heads up, _Mushroomland_ is the Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime anime's name for the Mushroom Kingdom, but I'm using it to describe the land in which the kingdoms are on, like the name of a continent. I've also included and combined Mario Kart areas, some areas in the anime/TV cartoon shows, a lot from the other Mario series games and mostly the Mario  & Luigi series areas to expand the kingdom. Mario and Luigi also have their own homes but they usually live together, like Mario has his own pad from SMRPG and Luigi has his mansion/house from LMDM in separate areas, too. Yay for creative imagination! :D

Anyway, I made an edit for the Fateslandia world in the previous chapter, so you'll see that here, too. As for calling this "Savior of the Realm" hmm, well, I don't know yet. It's a good suggestion, I'll consider it. For now, hope you all enjoy. More action will definitely follow, no worries!


	6. Here Come the Koopalings

To say he had a good day would be rather questionable.

Sure, this morning, he woke up to the amazing smell that was his younger twin's cooking. They had breakfast together as usual while chatting. He then got ready and dressed for the day in his usual get-up. He read some fanmail sent to him and then was off to do his own chores for the day. Traveling through Mushroom Way before heading into Toadwood Forest, then right into Toad Town from the westward path, he had been whistling to himself and thinking about visiting the princess after his chores were complete.

The first thing he did once arriving to Toad Town was to head to his and Luigi's shop and check in to see if they had any awaiting calls or notices. Thankfully, none of the sort happened so it looked like their plumbing schedule was clear for the time being. He cleaned the shop, dusted, swept, cleaned and sterilized their utensils and replaced them back on the shelves. Once he was done with that, taking no more than thirty minutes, he then left, locking the door to the shop behind him. His next task had been going to the grocery store and picking up some more groceries, then onto the clothing store to buy some new overalls, especially for Luigi. He couldn't believe his brother had outgrown his last pair! That or they had shrunk when washed. To be frank, he believed it was just a combination of those reasons why Luigi outgrew his clothes.

Shopping always took him so long and within another hour and a half, he was finished. He headed back to the shop, unlocked and stored their groceries and clothing in the back room in their proper locations. He'd pick them up later to take home—right now, he had some visiting to do! For the second time that day, he had left the shop and made his way towards the castle. Along the way, many Toads had greeted him, their personal hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. He waved back and smiled. He also spotted a couple of Yoshi and Birdo and gave them a good morning wave and they replied in kind.

Arriving at the castle gates, he was greeted by the Toad guards who had allowed him in with no issue. Inside, he expected some kind of attack from the King of Koopas but was surprised and grateful nothing of the sort happened. Yet. He wouldn't let his guard down completely. As he was traversing the castle and greeted the castle inhabitants, there was one he was expecting and looking for. She was garbed in her regal, elegant pink dress, crown atop her head, her blond hair flowing behind her in pristine condition and she was looking at him, too, with two Toad guards standing beside her.

"Mario!" the princess Peach called to him. Mario made short work of the distance between them, "Good morning. You're here rather early." She finished with a light giggle.

"Yep!" He chimed, "Good morning to you as well, Princess. It's such a nice day out that I was thinking about spending time with you today."

"That sounds lovely, I'd love to. But first, I must attend a meeting with the captain of our border patrol. We've just received some information regarding current events and we'll need to discuss the next steps to take," Peach replied. She noted that the usual cheery demeanor Mario sported was slightly melting away and she knew exactly why. "Would you like to come, Mario?"

"Of course. We need to be one step ahead of the enemy at all costs."

"Thank you so much. I'm sorry to have involved you so soon…"

"No, it's quite all right, Princess. Shall we go?"

Peach nodded and with Mario at her side, they advanced the castle, heading for the conference room where her captain and other border patrol guards were waiting. Toadsworth was also there, awaiting the arrival of the princess. As soon as they spotted their hero entering the room with the Princess, the old Toad retainer and captain were elated.

"Master Mario!" Toadsworth greeted him eagerly, "This is a surprise to see you here!"

"Hello, Mario!" The captain Toad chimed in as well.

The man in red greeted the both of them as well as the rest of his squad. They were some of the few Toads who didn't particularly cower in fear of Bowser's henchmen and fought back bravely. Although, the spook and scare of the King of Koopas sometimes got to them—but they didn't run away until defeated. Mario was glad there was some sense in the Toad guards and he hoped his heroics inspired them to become braver. It was working in some way. After their pleasantries were exchanged, the meeting started.

So far, there weren't any ambushes or skirmishes with the two kingdoms so far. It looked like Bowser was quiet for now. Not unusual for the Koopa King, although it made Mario wonder what his arch nemesis was up to. The BeanBean Kingdom's queen was still an ally of theirs as was the restored Pi'illo Kingdom under Prince Dreambert. They were fine after their own kingdom's crises that he and his brother had resolved. So far, the meeting seemed like it was just a follow-up report of what was happening around the world with their allies and at their borders with Darkland.

That is, until the Toad captain spoke up.

"We've picked up on a strange energy signals around the border not long ago," he started, getting into his recent report, "Using the devices Professor Gadd provided us, of course. It happened just around an hour ago in Toadwood Forest! It seems like this energy signal is similar to the ones Bowser uses for his troops!"

The forest? Mario had been there not that long ago himself. How had he missed it? He was worried for Luigi who was still at home. He hoped nothing happened to his brother.

"After that, the reading was gone. I sent a team to investigate and so far, there hasn't been any reports back. We're still waiting on them." The captain had continued, "But it's been really suspicious to us that Bowser hasn't done anything yet. We've been anticipating any strikes from him and his minions for days now. We're prepared this time for any attack." The Toad then turned to the red-capped hero, "Of course, with you here, many of my worries are alleviated, Mario!"

The plumber nodded his head in response. As long as he was here, he'd keep a close eye on everything and the Princess. Speaking of the monarch, she seemed to have a relieved look on her face. It seemed that her worries about the meeting were taken care of by the reports.

"When do you believe the patrol will return with an update?" She questioned Captain Toad.

"Hopefully very soon, Your Majesty! I estimate another half hour before they return."

Seemingly satisfied with the response, Peach continued, "Very well. I will await the next update. Please bring it to my attention as soon as possible." The captain inclined his head and she turned to Toadsworth, Mario, the Toad patrol squad and their captain, "If that's all for now, this meeting is adjourned." With that declaration, the occupants of the room began to file out, one by one until all that was left were the princess, her retainer and the hero.

"Seems like our worries weren't to be worried about after all, my dear!" Toadsworth spoke up, fairly pleased by the turn of events, "That nefarious Koopa is nowhere to be seen and you can relax."

Peach didn't seem to be reassured as much. "Yes, that might be true for now, but we'll never know when he'll strike."

"I suppose you're right on that."

"…But for now, let's try to enjoy the day," she picked up from there and turned to Mario, smiling a little, "It _is_ a rather nice day out, isn't it?" Having been silent as he contemplated the information he just received during the meeting, Mario was a bit slow to realize the princess was speaking to him. Flushing in embarrassment for that, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Of course, _Principessa_. What do you think we should do today?" Anything to get their minds off any troubling news, of course. Peach hummed quietly to herself as she shifted through some ideas. There were so many things they could do today to make the day pass quickly. She wanted to enjoy it to the fullest, especially since Mario was here. Honestly, she couldn't decide what they could do!

"There's so many choices, I'm unsure which one to choose," she eventually said, looking a tad rueful.

"Ha-ha, no worries! How about a tennis game?" Mario suggested.

"That sounds lovely! Let's get ready for it." The princess readily agreed and the two departed from the conference room with Toadsworth following behind them. He would be spectating the matches of course, to ensure they were playing by the rules and nobody got hurt. Their tennis games could become pretty lethal, all things considered. While the princess was a gentle lady, she was a fierce opponent in any of the sports held around the Mushroom Kingdom. She almost always gives Mario the run for his money at some of them when they were competing against each other.

Since he and Luigi had a personal guest room in the castle, Mario ascended to the second floor and made his way through the castle maze to find the room. He went in and went to the closet to find his and Luigi's gear from their many sporting events, along with extra, regular clothes they normally wore. Once dressing in his tennis attire, he exited the room with gusto and hurried downstairs again.

Peach was waiting for him, ready in her own tennis attire. They stepped outside the castle into the gardens from the back entrance and made their way to the courtyard proper where the designated tennis courts were. They grabbed their tennis rackets and the ball, Toadsworth situated himself in the referee seat to watch the matches. Rules set, the two began their first game, with Peach serving first.

It was practically a lot of fun, even with the use of fair items to cause the other to slip up or miss the next shot. Peach scored a technical shot a few times and Mario managed to strike powerful shots of his own. An hour later during the game, however, Mario missed a return shot due to receiving a slight influx of emotions from his brother. Quickly, he searched through his telepathic link he shared with his twin and found that Luigi was exerting himself. A fight, perhaps? Carefully, he examined it, pushing further into the link and finding that Luigi was fine but winded.

What could have happened?

A bit abruptly, the emotion spike was gone and replaced with a gentleness that accompanied the mental link between the two brothers. Mario knew Luigi could handle himself and if he really needed help, the younger brother would alert his elder of the danger. A long while passed before the anxiousness of waiting got to the older brother. Mario nudged the link in concern a few times and found that Luigi was alright. The younger brother returned the feelings with reassurance. Satisfied for the time being and minding out of that for the moment—but keeping a watch on it nonetheless—Mario returned to his game with Peach.

"Mario? Is something wrong?" Peach wondered, having noticed that Mario hadn't moved for a while. Uh-oh, had he accidentally spaced out?

"Yep, everything's fine, Princess." For now, at the least.

"You had that look across your face like something was wrong. Like when Luigi is in danger. Is he alright?"

Perceptive, she was. But then again, he could have spaced out for a long while. When he concentrated on his connection with his brother, he tended to be in his own little "bubble" for a time. He wouldn't know how much time had transpired whilst communicating with the twin telepathy he and Luigi shared. Honestly, he hadn't meant to worry anyone—Toadsworth was sharing the princess's concerned look, too. Best to alleviate their worries.

"No, Luigi is fine. He had a bit of trouble earlier but he's alright," he replied.

"Ah. That's good that Master Luigi is safe," Toadsworth commented, relieved that the hero's equally heroic brother wasn't harmed.

"Yes, I'm glad as well," Peach added, "Where is Luigi now, do you know?"

Mario paused for a second, nudging into the link a little bit. "Hmm, he seems to be in Toad Town," he answered. He could nearly pinpoint where Luigi was—it had always been like that since they were babies. Mario's part of their twin telepathy had always been the strongest although Luigi's portion had been catching up pretty well over the years. "He seems to be better than earlier, that's a relief."

"That's good. Do you want to stop playing for now?"

Mario shook his head. "No. Sorry about the scare earlier—I'm ready to play again!" Peach was glad to continue the game, too. She was also glad that Luigi was doing okay. If he hadn't, she'd have stopped the game immediately and hurried to find him with Mario if that had been the case.

The two were at it again under Toadsworth's watchful eye when a messenger Toad rushed into the tennis courts with a panicked expression.

"Mario! Mario! Princess! It's horrible!"

Alarmed and alert, both monarch and hero instantly stopped their game and turned their attention to the panicking Toad. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"I-It's the Koopalings!" The Toad exclaimed, "The Captain Toad and his squad have marched towards the borders again and the new report just came in. I'm only a messenger—they went to face the threat! The Koopalings are on their way to the Mushroom Kingdom with an army in tow! Th-They're coming from the southwestern border!"

"My word! We must relocate the princess somewhere to safety! It's no doubt those misfits are up to no good and intend to kidnap the princess!" Toadsworth exclaimed in worry, hurrying over as fast as he could. His suggestion seemed almost like a demand. "Princess! Please, you must flee to a safer haven!"

Peach immediately went into her 'Princess Mode', unshaken by the news.

"No, I will not run away, Toadsworth. I must stay behind for my subjects and kingdom," she responded. She was tired of being kidnapped and being the damsel in distress. She knew how to defend herself and now was the time to put that power into good use. She had strong star powers for herself and not utilizing them was a crime. "Mario, we need to hurry."

"Right!" The kingdom's hero replied hurriedly.

"Toad, could you deliver a summons to Luigi? He will be needed as soon as possible," Peach asked the frightened messenger Toad.

"Luigi's heading for our shop!" Mario added as the Toad was scurrying off to deliver the message. It appeared the Toad heard him as he hurried even faster than usual. The pair then rushed back to the castle, for one to get dressed properly and second, to plan their next plan of attack. It'd be likely that the Mario brothers would be sent off to fight the Koopalings and aid the Toad patrol.

"I knew it was too good to be true," Peach said as she and Mario eventually entered the throne room together with Toadsworth following. There'd be no way they could have a day to themselves without any interruptions. At the very least their game hadn't been disturbed by the Koopalings nor were any of her subjects terrorized. Yet, at least. Peach had every intention to divert the problem away from Toad Town and minimize the damages and terror from her people.

"Unfortunately," Mario added, geared up to fight and defend the kingdom once again. A duty he didn't take too lightly. As Peach took a seat at her throne, Mario's expression lightened a little and he said, "Ah, Luigi's coming soon."

"Good. I hope we won't be too late to intercept them," Toadsworth commented, "My word, I wonder…" The old Toad didn't know what to make of this except to expect another kidnapping of his liege and charge. If he was only younger, he could have done something—he had been a better caretaker when the princess was a wee babe. Toadsworth the Younger was everything Toadsworth the Older wished to be again.

Within a few minutes, the doors to the throne room opened and the Toad from earlier scurried in. "Luigi's on his way!" The messenger Toad quickly relayed to them. Just as Mario had said, then. Peach nodded and dismissed the Toad with a grateful expression. Though they were mostly nervous and skittish, they were exceptionally loyal to a fault. She admired their bravery, despite how fearful they became. Each one were her subjects and she would do everything in her power to protect them.

Not long after the message was delivered, the doors to the throne room opened again. Stepping in was the man in green, his twin and other half—Luigi. However, he was followed in by a young woman he didn't recognize. Upon Luigi spotting him, the younger brother hurried towards him with the woman trailing behind cautiously. She stayed a respectful distance away. Something about her was odd, Mario thought, but pushed it to the back of his mind.

"Luigi, good to see ya, Bro!" Mario greeted his twin.

"Me too, Mario," Luigi replied then turned to Peach, "Princess, Toadsworth, the same to you as well."

"Greetings to you, Luigi," the princess said with a nod.

"Likewise, Master Luigi!" Noticing the woman, as did Peach, the old Toad voiced the question for the other three, "Erm, Master Luigi, who might this young lady be?" The elder noticed that this young woman seemed much like his charge. A noble, no doubt. Despite how she dressed, she poised herself like a noble of incredibly high class. He could definitely see that with his old eyes. There was no mistaking it.

"Ah right. Princess, Toadsworth, Bro. This is Corrin. Corrin, meet Princess Peach, her retainer Toadsworth and my Big Bro, Mario!" Luigi introduced.

The young woman, Corrin was her name, nodded to each other them, and to Peach, gave a modest curtsy, even if she lacked a dress at the moment. "It's an honor to meet you all," she said.

"Likewise, Corrin," Peach answered for them, also noticing the same things Toadsworth did about her. As a princess, Peach could tell when another one of nobility, or in this case, royalty was in front of her. Why the young woman was concealing her identity was beyond her, but the Mushroom Kingdom's monarch knew that it was a personal story. Whatever reason why was Corrin's business and she'd reveal it when she was ready. With the pleasantries out of the way, it was time to get to business.

"The messenger Toad came to get me and said it was urgent," Luigi spoke up, getting the attention of the others, "Is it Bowser?" Mario shook his head negative.

"No, _fratellino_. It's the Koopalings. The reports were in that they were on the way to the Mushroom Kingdom with an army. No doubt Bowser _is_ up to something with them involved."

"Oh, boy…" Luigi grumbled. "Then, we ought to go and stop them before they do something terrible."

"Right. However, we can't leave the princess here." Both brothers turned to the monarch in question as Mario continued, "We know you can defend yourself, Peach. But who knows if the Koopalings have some hidden scheme up their sleeves."

"Yeah. They could possibly be a distraction to lead us away from the castle and then Bowser could sneak in behind them during the chaos and come here. Or, he gets Junior to infiltrate…" Luigi added. The Star Sprites know how often the Koopa Prince was used in schemes of his father's. Peach normally didn't hurt him considering he was a child and, oddly enough, she _did_ hold a soft spot for the Prince of the Darkland. Even if his father was a menace, Peach couldn't hold it against the small Koopa.

"Splitting up is not a good idea, either," Mario resumed from there, "One of us would be dealing with too many enemies to handle." Though he was certain he or Luigi could potentially handle all of them without too much trouble, he didn't want either of them to go in unprepared. Who knew what sort of new tricks the Koopalings had on them this time?

"Um? If I may?" The quad glanced from their musings to their guest. Corrin, having listened and understood most of the gist of the conversation thus far, had their attention and she went on, "I can help. I may not look like it, but I'm strong in my own right."

"Corrin, no! You've just left the hospital. The doctor said you need to take it easy!" Luigi reprimanded. The young woman seemed adamant and shook her head, holding her ground.

"I know, but I have to do something. I can't stand around and do nothing, just like you said before. This way, you and your brother can figure out who is staying behind to defend the castle and Princess Peach. For everything you've done for me so far, it's my turn to return the favor and help you. Please, Luigi. I promise I'll be careful. I'm fine, I won't get in the way."

Mario eyed his brother, who looked pretty much torn on what to decide. The elder brother could practically feel the indecision swirling through his brother's thoughts through their link. He knew Luigi could find the solution to his predicament without his help and he wasn't disappointed when the younger brother found his resolve.

"No, Corrin. I can't let you come. I understand you want to help, but I can't let you disobey a direct order from the doctor. You could reopen any of your wounds. It would be irresponsible of me, who was entrusted with your care, to let you go and fight after your recovery."

"But-!"

"I just want you to be safe and unharmed again."

It didn't seem like this would be a winnable fight on either side as Corrin looked frustrated. "Luigi. I promise I'll be careful. Please, let me help you." Mario glanced to his brother to see that he was firmly set in with his answer. Corrin sighed and lowered her head, disappointed.

"Bro, I'll go and fend off the Koopalings." Now it was Mario's turn to be surprised.

"What?"

"I said I'll go fend off the Koopalings and their underlings," Luigi repeated himself, "If they are indeed a distraction, then what better way to distract the distraction with its own tactic?"

"The decoy? Luigi, no-"

"If Bowser is using them as bait, then if you're here, you'll have a better chance at protecting the princess than me if he does come."

It was obvious that Mario was _not_ happy with this decision. He had just told them that they shouldn't split up. Not like this, though. It appeared Luigi felt his own frustration and anger through their connection and attempted to soothe him, both internally and verbally. It appeared that he wouldn't win the soothing contest this time; Mario was indeed _very displeased_ by this decision.

"Mario… _Fratellone_ …"

Ugh, not when he used _that_ against him.

Mario sighed a long one. They were losing time and they needed to hurry before the Toad guards were defeated. "Make sure you're stocked up, Luigi. On everything you will need," he said eventually, then got an idea. Luigi wouldn't like it, but call it a mild case of revenge for pitting that affectionate word against him, "Take Corrin with you."

"Wh-What?" Both of them stammered, one in fright and the other in delight.

"You mean I can-?" Corrin wondered aloud.

"Bro! You just heard what I said!"

"I know. But you're strong enough to protect her. And I can recognize a fighter when I see one. She's probably as strong as she says she is, Luigi," Mario replied, defending his case, "Luigi. You're my brother, my only family left. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. You need a partner with you. If I'm to stay here with Peach, then Corrin should be able to watch your back." With Luigi looking to protest, Mario pressed further, " _Please_ , Weege. For my sake."

That was something the younger brother couldn't defeat. Not without hurting feelings, of course. With a defeated sigh, Luigi hung his head and nodded slowly.

"Alright," he began, then straightened out, "Alright, we'll get ready then. Did the Toads report which direction the Koopalings were coming from?"

"The southwestern border," Toadsworth relayed, having remained quiet with Peach as the brothers settled their dispute between themselves, "The items and shops in the castle are available for you to take as you need, Luigi. Oh, and Corrin? You will need to be extra careful and gather gear for yourself for the trip, too."

The princess of another land nodded and turned to follow Luigi out of the throne room when she was stopped by the gentle voice of Peach.

"Corrin, please wait a moment."

The dragon royal paused and turned back, facing the Mushroom Kingdom's princess as the noble herself stood up and approached her. They were practically the same height, with slight differences. Soft, kind blue eyes stared curiously into the deep red eyes of her counterpart and she smiled.

"…It's hard to be a princess out of her kingdom, isn't it?" Peach suddenly said in a quiet voice, causing Corrin to blink and gasp in slight.

"…H-How?"

"I can easily tell when I'm in the presence of another royal," Peach giggled. It was like when she and Daisy were introduced a little, except the tomboyish princess of Sarasaland had immediately declared herself. Peach hoped that she would become fast friends with Corrin, too. "I don't know why you're undercover, but I won't oust your identity to the others unless you do first or allow me to."

"…I'm… I'm not really 'undercover' or hiding my presence, Your Majesty-"

"Just 'Peach' is fine. The formalities are getting a bit old after all."

To that, Corrin chuckled a little, her shock melting away. Peach indeed was like a calming force like her late mother. She could get used to this princess's presence easily, she knew it. However, it wasn't the time to—she had to get going and hope Luigi wouldn't leave her behind. Not after Mario had just vouched for her.

"I'll let you get going. But before you do, here, take this."

Peach slipped an object into Corrin's hand. When the foreign princess chanced to look at it, she saw it was a crown that looked like Peach's, except it had two sentient eyes on it. Confusion easily settled on her face and she turned to Peach for some kind of explanation.

"It'll come in handy when you need it to," she said instead, "If you show it to Luigi, he'll tell you what it is. It'll help you should you need it."

"Oh, okay. Thank you, Peach."

"Of course, Corrin. Good luck."

"You too. Stay safe. And um, thank you for your kindness so far."

Peach smiled again and Corrin turned to leave the throne room. She waved to Toadsworth and Mario, the latter returning it as he watched her go. When she was gone, he instantly rounded on the princess.

"You gave her something."

"Mm, I did. It'll help in the long run. It might buy us some time to plan out things here," Peach replied. "Luigi will be able to explain it in full when he sees it. It wasn't meant to deceive, though provide the decoy ploy for a little longer."

Understanding flashed in both males' eyes. They knew exactly what sort of item Peach had given Corrin.

"Let's hope for the best. Master Luigi is resourceful and a tactical genius. He should be able to outsmart them," Toadsworth voiced his highest opinion of the younger Mario brother. Mario was evidently glad to hear such confident words from the older Toad and he couldn't help but be proud of his brother.

"Luigi will pull through," Mario added, "We need to believe in him and his abilities." After all, he was a Mario brother through and through. Whatever Mario could do, he knew for sure Luigi could do it, too. With Corrin going along with him, there was no doubt they'd make it back in one piece and with success.

Mario believed that with zero doubt in mind.

* * *

Sorry this didn't get updated for a long while. I got distracted and had a lot of work hours, etc. It might be a while longer until I dish out another update for another story that is in dire need of one. (*cough*DroppingIn*cough*) But, I'll get there. Yeah.

Hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Exciting stuff'll happen, yep.


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